Dragon Girl
by Bad Luck Novelist
Summary: In the heat of the newest Pokemon League Tournament, Ash finds out that life isn't all about battling, and that it holds a surprise in store that him nor Misty nor Brock would have ever seen coming.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika and Silvanus belong to me.

AN: Hm. Yes, if any of you remember, in my profile I had a thing that mentioned NaNoWriMo. Well, I am just now getting to the end of the story (I'm in the last 10,000 words needed or so), and I'm deciding at the moment whether to make it longer, or cut it off and finish off one of the plot lines in a sequel. I'll figure it out sometime soon. :) Before I let you go off, please not that this might not be my best work. I had to do a lot of things with it I normally wouldn't try, a lot of filler was used, and it probably has something like three anti-climaxes. XD Haha. Anyway, just remember that this was done without my 'inner editor' for the most part, except for the last three or four chapters.

Warning: Yes, this is one of my normal RivalSibling fan fictions (ohhhh, I named it! XD), I am doing something slightly different this time around. For the most part, looking back on all of my past fan fictions I tended to avoid writing through the more adult scenes. In this one, I attempted to just plow right through it rather then avoid it altogether. Though it isn't horribly graphic, it is still in there. There'll probably be two or three of them (one for a serious scene, one for humor near the end of the story, and...not sure about number three. Maybe there isn't a number three). I can, if I need to, take it out or more that chapter to another site, who knows though. o.0 I need to find out if that one is allowed...anyway, to the prologue!

- Prologue -

The dusky hallway rang with the sound of yelling voices, as the couple bickered hotly. It happened every week, with it starting when the man would arrive to take the kids out. The woman would refuse to let him, he'd get upset, and the arguing would start.

That was six hours ago. Ever since one in the afternoon, there had been shouts and screams coming from the living room. To most, the noise would merely be annoying, something to block out and ignore. To a child though, it was the apocalypse of her family.

In one of the upstairs bedrooms, sitting in a cubbyhole with a blanket and teddy bear, was a small child. She could be no older then six-years-old, with the big eyes and round face of her age. There were tears welling up in her eyes as there were more shouts and the sound of a door slamming. There was silence.

Her breathing fast, she edged out into the open room, the blanket trailing behind her on the floor. She could hear the angry, hurried footsteps of her mother downstairs, and the creak of the kitchen door. Waiting for the sound of the stair's groaning she watched the closed bedroom door. For several minutes, the only thing she heard was the loud curses her mother said, a thud, then nothing.

Shuffling over to the dresser, she pulled open the bottom drawer and took out several pairs of socks and shorts, tossing them onto the bed. Using the small chair that was kept nearby, she opened the higher up drawers to get out more clothing, and some of the toys stored on top of the wooden dresser. They all were also tossed on the pile.

Running into the bathroom, she took her toothbrush from the cup on the counter and her favorite towel from the linen closet, along with her favorite bath toy – a sail boat – to add to the pile. Making sure all of her favorites were there, she took the small backpack she used for preschool and put the toys and clothes in it, stomping her feet when it all wouldn't fit. Looking over everything, she discarded several articles of clothing to make room for the toys.

Toys were a person's most important items, and none could be spared. With a sniffle, she forced the backpack shut and shrugged it on, the bulky weight toppling her over. Struggling to get up, she opened her bedroom door and walked out, taking to the stairs. With her short legs, she could only take one at a time; the length of it was bangs, thuds, and sniffles as she loudly make her way downstairs.

Passing by the kitchen, she peeked in to see her mother, sitting at the table with a glass and a bottle of a nasty looking green liquid in it. She wondered why her mother always drank it, but no matter the reason, it always made her act nastily to her and her older brother. Rubbing her runny nose, she came up to the back door, and fought it open as she half hung from it with her too-short arms.

As the old thing made a long, wailing creaking sound, she looked up at the vase that sat on a table by the open doorway, sniffled again, and stepped out into the open yard. She wouldn't make her mother or father suffer again.

- - -

"You _lost_ her! How the hell do you lose a child in your own damned house!" he roared, as the woman weeped on the couch. She looked up at him with puffy blue eyes, mumbling nonsense. It was trying his patience. "This is what happens when you have the kids! At least Gary has been staying with Dad, so he isn't being neglected by you!"

"Me! You blame this on me! She's just as much your daughter as mine!" she shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at him, "I did nothing wrong, mister! Nothing!"

"That's right. You did nothing, and now we have a missing girl. She could be in trouble for all we know!" he snapped, slapping a hand across the seething woman's face. She sat in stunned silence, staring at him with wide eyes. The only sound was their heavy breathing, as they watched each other warily. "Call the police."

Without taking her eyes off of him, she leaned over and picked up the phone, dialing it for the emergency number. "This is not just my fault," she hissed, as the person on the line started talking, and went into explaining the situation.

Tapping his foot on the floor, he watched as she hung up, his anger gone, replaced by the overwhelming worry for the small child that had wondered off. His only daughter, missing, and his ex-wife being the cause of it…or was she? "Now, explain to me…what happened when I left?" he asked, his voice calm and soft.

She took a deep breath, soothing her nerves as much as she could, before explaining about how she had gone into the kitchen to get a drink. About how she had sat at the table with the bottle of brandy and just thought, until she had fallen asleep there at the table. He looked on thoughtfully, his eyebrows lowering in an expression of concentration. "What?" she asked.

"You mean to tell me…instead of going to see if she was still alright and her location, you went and got drunk?" She nodded, looking down at her slippered feet to hide her contorted face. He threw his arms up. "And you say I'm a horrible parent! At least I make sure they are safe and sound!"

"She was in her bedroom when you showed up earlier," she quietly admitted, peeking up as his eyes turned wide. She knew what was coming.

"_In her bedroom!_ You lied to me, told me she was at a friend's house! She had to sit and listen to everything that happened today? No wonder she had gone missing!" He started pacing, frantically wringing his hands. "Never in my life…you are a horrible mother. You don't even know what might have just happened?"

She shook her head. He spun around to look at her, anger evident in his every move. "Woman, that child has had to listen to us argue ever since before the divorce, and then you have her in the house during that episode today and expect her to be unscathed and happy? If this isn't a case of her running away, I will be surprised!"

She shook her head. "No, my little girl wouldn't do that."

His lips were set in a firm line. "Obviously she would."

Storming up the stairs, he started toward the empty bedroom. His ex-wife followed behind, wiping away the stray tears as they entered. The bed was still made, with only the slightest disturbance from the pile that had lain on it. Around it was the various clothing that had been discarded in favor of the toys. The dresser's various drawers were left open, and clothes missing out of them. "Well?" he asked harshly, motioning around the room, "What have you to say?"

"No, no…she wouldn't, she wouldn't…" The woman fell back into sobs, as the weight of the situation was revealed to her. Going to look out of the window, he sighed.

"If we do not find her," he said, turning his head slightly, "I am holding you responsible for it. You will not be let off the hook for this." She cried.

- - -

Shivering, she looked around the dark trees, her eyes shining in fear. She could hear noises she hadn't heard before; creaks, groans, howls, and yowls that didn't sound friendly or familiar. None of it sounded nice to her, and she was cold. Cold and lonely.

Sitting down on the moist ground, she started crying, her nose running again, along with her eyes. She felt lost, confused, sad, and upset, and missed her mother, father, brother, and grandfather. She missed her bed and toys that had been left behind, and missed the cat that usually would be sneaking around the house.

There was a crunch, a snap, then silence. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked over at the two pairs of eyes that stared out at her from the brush. They both were blinking curiously, and there was a moment when one disappeared, then reappeared. The other pair did the same, then they both disappeared. The bushes moved as they headed farther into the forest, showing her where they were going. Being a child such as herself, she picked herself up and followed, tripping and running, after them as best she could.

When she was deep into the trees, she stopped and looked around. It looked darker and scarier then the place she had been, and her two guides were gone – or so she thought, as they came up behind her. One of them nudged her gently, as she turned about and saw the two creatures standing there. They looked like something out of one of her fairy tales, the ones where the knight saved the princess from giant monsters that breathed fire and had large sharp teeth. The only problem was, they were rather small, only about as tall as two of her, and didn't look like they could be all that dangerous to men wearing metal or to princesses in tall towers.

"Who are you?" she asked, looking at them with large green eyes. They tilted their heads, before their eyes started glowing.

**_Vanika_**, a feminine voice said within her head, startling her. She fell over, staring at them.

**_Silvanus_**, another voice, this one more masculine, said. Her eyes went even wider then before, as she started backing off, scooting on the ground. **_You fear us._**

**_There is no need to. We are not here to harm you._** The green one started forward, dark eyes glittering, and put a claw up in an almost human way to take her hand. Her lips formed a perfect 'O' as she leaned toward the female. **_We'll protect you, if you'll let us._**


	2. Chapter One: Wicker Maiden Forest

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Chapter One! When I was still at my best last November. XD Though this one isn't my favourite chapter, it still is pretty good overall. Please review if you likie, and even if you don't. :3 I like feedback.

Warning: Even though it isn't in this chapter (or even in the first few chapters), there is a semi-adult scene or two later on. Rawr. Don't read those parts if you don't like it. :

- Chapter One: Wicker Maid Forest -

"Where are you going? We're supposed to go this way!" the red head yelled out, as the younger but taller boy started heading in a different direction then the one she pointed out. He stopped, turning to look at her and the other boy traveling with them.

"No, we aren't. Remember, Nurse Joy had said the quickest route was to go along the edge of the Wicker Maiden Forest, then take to the east." he said, frowning at her, "Misty, you must have a bad memory or something."

Bristling, the young woman, Misty Waterflower, put her hands on her hips. "Really now? This coming from the one that forgot his own pokedex at the Center?" she retorted.

She felt a great satisfaction as the teenager turned a bright red color. He scowled, trying his hardest to keep his pride intact. "At least I can remember directions."

"Too bad you still suck at giving them and using them." Misty laughed, when he balled his hands into fists, his eyes narrowed in aggravation.

"Not as much as you." The argument started over anew, as they tore into each other verbally, ignoring the quiet man who tried fruitlessly to get them to listen.

Growing impatient, he finally grabbed the female by the neck of her shirt to pull her back, getting between them physically. "Ash! Misty! Listen!" he said, as the two glared at each other, then looked at him. "Stop acting like you are in kindergarten, and yelling at each other. We aren't getting anywhere by standing here while you needle each other."

The younger boy, Ash, hmmph'ed and looked away. Misty turned to the mediator, crossing her arms as she watched him. "Which way do we go, since someone doesn't know what they are talking about?" she asked.

"That someone being you," Ash said under his breath, earning another icy look from Misty and a disapproving one from the elder male. "Oh, come on, Brock! You heard her just as well as I did! She said-"

"…to take the trail along the forest, then get onto the main road. Yes, she did say that. We never decided we actually would though," Brock replied, deflating the boy's argumentative attitude. "Now, that beauty did suggest that we take that trail, so I say we should."

Misty threw her arms up, growling. "Men!" she scowled, stomping past the smirking dark-haired boy, "Never can get them to disagree with each other, bah!"

"At least it'll take less time to get to the next town this way!" Ash said, putting on the best impression of being humbly cheerful that he could manage. Misty stared at him, as Brock backed off, keeping back several steps as another argument started up.

"Chuu," Pikachu, the small yellow Pokemon that was one of the few Pokemon that was out of his poke ball more often then not, whimpered. Brock nodded his agreement, sighing.

It was due to be a long day.

- - -

The leaves crunched underfoot, as the two men walked along the thick brush and trees, their rifles in hand. They were there for the same reason that many others before them had been; to seek out the legendary treasure of the forest. It was said that any that found it would have enough gold to live comfortable for many years, and they were determined to find it!

Of course, it was all myth and speculation. It was also said there was a spirit that haunted the forest, that of a young woman, but that was never proven or believed by the people that entered.

"If there is nothing dangerous here, why in blazes would we need weapons?" one of the men asked, frowning at the other, "Most likely no treasure here anyway…."

The second one scowled, and swatted him with the barrel of his rifle. "Bah, there will be. It's as a safety precaution, you dunce. You never know what could show up when you least expect it to, you know?" he replied.

"Like we would be attacked-" There was a rustling in the trees, startling the two hunters into silence and stillness. They saw something silver shoot past, over them and into the dimness. Looking at each other in shock, they turned back to see the still moving leaves. With smirks, they started at a quick pace to follow whatever it had been.

It took several minutes for them to catch up to the silver form, which was resting comfortably in the branches of one of the trees. The shorter of the two men crept forward, aiming the loaded gun at the strange creature and firing.

- - -

A flock of birds flew up from the cluster of trees, as the resounding ring startled them from their perches. The group of three looked up, watching them fly away, frowns on their faces. "What was that?" Ash asked, shielding his eyes from the sun.

Brock shook his head, turning from the forest line. "That was a gunshot," he replied, getting the same look from both companions; wide eyes and open mouths. "We need to get away from here, before whoever that was comes this way, if they are."

"What if they hurt someone?" Misty said, going at a run into the trees, using her arms to shield herself from the low branches. Ash followed her, pulling out a poke ball to summon another Pokemon out in case Pikachu wouldn't be enough.

"We should at least go see if they need help," the teenage boy suggested, as Brock started to open his mouth to persuade them to go back to the trail. The older male looked at the younger one, before getting a faint smile and nodded.

The air was warm and moist, as they trooped through the serene forest. The sunlight that was streaking through the openings in the trees gave just enough light for them to see where they were going, and what was amongst the foliage. "It's beautiful in here," the red-haired girl whispered, getting nods of agreement in return.

"I am finding it odd that we aren't seeing any Pokemon here, though. Not even a Butterfree or Weedle in sight…" Ash commented. They came to a stop, as they peered around at the quiet – and very much empty – forest. "Is there something wrong with this place or something?"

"No…it could just be that there is something living here that they either don't like or fear." Brock said, "It isn't uncommon." There was the sound of voices drifting from far off.

"There's our gunmen," Misty remarked, leading the way toward the continuous drone of voices.

- - -

"Never before…it's gone!" The hunters searched around the trees, looking for the body of whatever creature they had shot at. It was turning up no results, without sight or sound of it anywhere. "How can we lose a dead body?"

"Unless it just vaporized, you obviously didn't hit it!" the other snapped, taking to the darker parts of the underbrush to look. "And if you didn't-"

He cursed, when something narrow and willowy slapped him on the back of the head. Spinning around to see who was behind it, there was nothing but air to meet his gaze. Warily, he called out to his partner, only to hear the sound of him yelling at something back at the tree the creature had been in.

Running to him, the hunter saw his partner dancing around, as the silver animal from before bit and snapped at his lower body. He looked quite ridiculous as he tried to aim at the thing to stop it. As the gun went off, they heard rustling in the trees.

The unmoving hunter blanched; there were not one, but two, of the strange and dangerous things. The new one was a leafy green, its scales not quite as bright as the silver's ones, but more colorful none-the-less. "What are these!" he screamed, shooting at the newcomer.

It danced out of the way in an almost playful matter. He had the thought of it actually laughing at him, but shook it away before it went on; it was just his over active imagination. Reptiles didn't laugh. "Leave them alone!"

The voice of a female surprised the taller man. He had not expected anyone other then them to be within the woody area; he certainly hadn't expected a woman to be there! Turning in the direction of the voice, he saw the girl who owned it; she was a slight one, with large green eyes and long, unkempt brown hair.

"I advise you to stay back, young miss. These are quite dangerous creatures, you know," he said, eyeing the girl. He wondered how old she was, and where she had been that her hair and clothing was in such a state. Surely young women took better care of themselves then that? There were more gunshots as his partner once again tried to get the silver thing off his heels.

"Stop trying to kill them! You're the ones trespassing, not them! Get out of here!" Her voice rose steadily, as she ran at him; he could see the attack coming from far off. He put his arms up to block the scratch he would have received, and ducked away from the punches and kicks that were aimed at him. He couldn't believe how uncivilized such a child could be.

Taking up his weapon, he aimed at her and scowled. "Back off, sweetheart, or I'll have to blow off that pretty little face of yours," he growled, spawning another attack from the raging child.

- - -

Misty saw the moving forms of the two hunters through the trees, as they neared them. She stopped the two boys when the new girl showed up, and they watched in amazement as one of the hunters was promptly assaulted by her. "What in the name of hell…" Ash said, "What is wrong with that kid?"

"Something." Misty narrowed her eyes when the man pulled up his gun, aimed and ready to fire at any moment. "And is going to be dead in a few moments if we don't stop him."

"Wait, Misty-" She bolted through, stepping quickly through the bushes and bursting out next to the hunter. "Not again."

"Hey there!" she yelled, interrupting the fight going on. The man glanced at her, a few welts and scratches on his face and arms from where the young girl had managed to get a few hits in. "What is this about?"

As Ash and Brock came up behind Misty, they watched as the brunette ran off past the man, striking out at the other one to get him away from the silver animal before he managed to reload his gun. "You won't hurt Vanika and Silvanus! I won't let you!" she screamed, punching at him energetically.

"We came in here to find the….treasure that is supposed to be in here," the hunter said, rubbing at the sores dully, "but those little….things…attacked us, then that _child_ came in and started yelling at us, then joined in on the attack. The little bitch managed to get me too."

"There-is-no-treasure-here! Go away!" the young girl snapped, as the hunter's partner threw her off. Scowling, he stalked over to them, rubbing at the spot on his abdomen where her fist had connected.

"What is her problem? She's acting like those freaks are her pets," he scowled, as she followed on his heels, yammering on about how they 'had better get out' and 'not touch Vanika and Silvanus.'

"Perhaps you might be better off listening to her?" Misty suggested, raising an eyebrow, "Considering you aren't doing much good getting the life beat out of you by her?"

"Obviously there is more to this then you are seeing. Now do us all a favor, and drop it." They all looked at Ash, who folded his arms across his chest and stared passively back at them. Growling deep in his throat, the hunter turned away.

"Children! Telling me what to do now! Bah!" He started back in the direction they had came from before finding the silvery creature. "Come on, Drew, there's no point in sticking around here and getting headaches."

His partner, Drew, gave the group one last lingering look, before following, limping after him. The girl, scowling, watched them leave, before turning to Ash, Misty, and Brock. "What are _you_ all doing in here?"

**_Be calm._** Vanika came up to them, sniffing, and nodded her approval. Their eyes went wide; they could also hear what she mind-spoke. **_They're friends, not foes._**

Slumping her shoulders, she peeked up at them. "Sorry." She brightened again, actually smiling for the first time since they arrived. "I'm May!"

Vanika and the silver creature did a bow-type of movement. **_I am Vanika. This is Silvanus,_** the green one said.

**_You are?_ **Silvanus asked, tilting his head. Ash was the first to speak up, breaking the silence that permeated the forest. "Well, my name's Ash, this is Misty, and the one behind her is Brock."

"Nice to meet you." Brock said, coming up to the suddenly wary girl and taking her hands in his, "I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, and hope to-"

"Lay off, lover boy," Misty snarled, pushing the man away, "we are total strangers here. You'll scare the poor girl."

Ash snickered, as he turned to Vanika and Silvanus. "What exactly are you?" he asked, looking curiously at them.

Silvanus, somehow, seemed to actually start laughing at him, making a nasally sound that resembled a human's giggle. Vanika swatted the sniggering reptile, and sat at the boy's feet, tail curled around her body. Her male counterpart joined her, putting a lid on his mirth. **_We are dracones…dragons,_** he answered.

**_Why don't you join us? We stay in a cave not far off from here, and it is warm enough to sleep in and live in, _**Vanika asked, her mental voice sounding amused. May looked at Ash and Misty hopefully, bobbing on her heels impatiently. The older girl shrugged.

"What do you think Brock?" they asked. Scratching his head, Brock thought over the offer, and the schedule they had been trying to keep, before nodding.

"It means pushing everything a few days back," he warned, before smiling, "but who says we can't stop and have some fun?" May cheered, grabbing Silvanus and dancing around with him. They laughed; his mind-link was colored in displeasure at the activity.

**_Let me go you childish girl!_** As Silvanus jerked away, they erupted in laughter again. **_Humans!_** He bounded off into the trees, his silver tail whipping as he ran.


	3. Chapter Two: A Special Thank You

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: This would be Chapter Two. :) This has a bit more light-hearted then the first two parts were, which is somewhat setting the tone for these changes that occur throughout the fan fiction (it seriously goes sad, to happy, to sad, to happy, to sad, sad, happy... XD Or so I think it does.)

Warning: Even though it isn't in this chapter (or even in the first few chapters), there is a semi-adult scene or two later on. Rawr. Don't read those parts if you don't like it.

- Chapter Two: A Special Thank You -

"This is such an…interesting set-up." The cave the two dragons and May took them to was situated far into the forest. The clearing itself had a pile of wood in the middle, somewhat charred from a fire that had burned there the night before. They could hear the sounds of moving water that was nearby, but out of sight.

Just inside the cave were what appeared to be natural shelves in the rock, where there were books and items kept. Misty picked one up, and flipped through it; it was for the basic alphabet. "Where did you get all of these from, May?" she asked, as the brunette peered over her shoulder at it.

She shrugged, looking slightly bewildered. "Vanika gets those for me. She said she wants me to learn things so I won't be a total idiot."

"She's doing a good job of playing teacher." Misty smiled at her, getting a hesitant one in return. It brought to mind the image of a deer; shy, scared to be near humans, skittish. "What's there to eat around here? It's nearly lunch time."

"Oh, usually we just get whatever Silvanus conjures up. He sometimes manages to get these things called 'chops.' I don't know what it is exactly," the younger girl admitted. Misty's eyes widened.

"Pork chops?" She nodded. "It's….um, it's meat that is taken from a pig, just like bacon and ham."

May looked at her, eyes narrowed while it sank in what Misty said. She brightened. "Maybe I can get him to get some of those again."

The redhead shook her head, putting her hands up. "No, no, there is no need!" Misty hurriedly said, as May started back toward the entrance of the cave. Something told her that the silver dragon would not be pleased.

"No, no, I'm going to! He won't mind, he liked them." Excitedly, she scurried off to find him, leaving Misty to stare in shock. The gym leader wondered what exactly they had gotten themselves into in agreeing to stay.

- - -

As predicted, Silvanus wasn't happy about it, but disappeared into the underbrush to fetch dinner anyway. Misty pulled both Ash and Brock away, out of earshot of the young woman that seemed more like a young child, and turned to them. "There is something wrong with this. Why is she out here, of all places?" she asked.

They shrugged, just as baffled as she, and turned to watched. Vanika was currently hopping about, dodging to the side as May jumped at her, being as wild as the dragons themselves could be. Brock rose an eyebrow, before actually laughing. "It's like they are her parents, almost."

"What?" Ash asked, looking between the two elder members of the group. "What do you mean, her parents? That's not possible."

Misty sighed, and looked at him. "Ash, we don't mean literally her parents. Look at it this way…Vanika has had to teach her everything she knows. She's out here, in the middle of no where, and looks like she has been for quite some time."

"The only way to find out for sure is to ask." Brock nodded in agreement, along with Misty. They walked back over to the two, keeping their footsteps quiet so it didn't disturb the session going on. Vanika paused, getting onto her hind legs to peer at them.

**_Do you need something? If you want to wash up, there is a spring for you to do so._** They looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement; it could wait for a while, at least until they were on more familiar grounds.

- - -

"What's that?" Ash waved a hand, stopping his battling Pokemon. May watched as they all hunched down, panting, and craned their heads to peer in their direction. "What are those?"

"You don't know what Pokemon are?" he asked, his eyes widening as she came up beside him. She crouched down, putting a hand out to try to touch one of the creatures that was so foreign to her without actually moving to get closer. May shook her head, as the smallest of them, a yellow one, sniffed at her hand. "Pikachu, mild shock."

May jumped, when she felt a slight jolt of electricity come from the yellow animal that was referred to as 'Pikachu.' She blinked, and looked up at Ash curiously, her eyes wide. "Are they all like this?"

Ash shook his head, letting the other five return to their homes – the five pokeballs that he held - and tossed them into his backpack. "No. They all are different." He put a hand out to help her up. "Some of them are like Pikachu, others can use water, others fire, while others are psychic, and others can use Ice and can fly."

Going pink, May took the offered help and got to her feet. "Um…."

**_Thank him._** Silver eyes stared at them from in the trees, and Vanika hopped down. May blinked, her eyes thoughtful and unfocused at the same time, before she jumped and hugged him, mumbling under her breath a string of words Ash couldn't even begin to pin a meaning to. Vanika started laughing in her own dragon-like way at the bug-eyed look he had gotten.

"_That's_ how you thank people?" he asked, as May smiled up at him. The smile quickly faded, as she looked at the dark-haired boy, clearly confused at the question.

"…Isn't that how you're supposed to thank someone?" The innocent question was asked quietly. "That's what Vanika does."

Ash ran a hand through his hair, baffled beyond belief, and looked to the green reptile for an answer. Vanika just dragon-shrugged, her mind-link a muddy color in ruefulness. **_Go on. It is time to, anyway._**

Thinking over an acceptable answer, he looked back at May. "Well," he started, swallowing to get rid of whatever was suddenly obstructing his breathing, "you…that's not exactly how you thank someone. Don't get me wrong-" Ash noticed the down look the girl had suddenly gotten, as if she felt bad, and he put on a smile to try to cheer her up. "-that is one way to go about it, but you don't do that to everyone."

"Why not?"

"Because some might take it the wrong way." Ash bit his lip, getting more uncomfortable with the turn the lesson was taking. "If you want to do that to someone, it has to be someone you know…like a friend or something. Normally, all you would have to do is say 'thank you' and maybe hug them or something…the_ normal _way, where you don't jump on them."

"I'm sorry. I did it all wrong then," May said, frowning at him. Ash put his hands up, shaking his head.

"No, no! I'm your friend, right?" She nodded, hesitantly. "Then it's ok. Just, if it's someone you don't know at all or don't consider a friend…like that guy that was here yesterday. You wouldn't do that to him."

May's eyes narrowed at the mention of the hunters, and she nodded again. **_That's enough. Why don't you go see about your books? You didn't finish your last one,_** Vanika spoke up, interrupting the two.

"You mean the boring one?" Her shoulders slumped, and she stalked off, muttering under her breath. Ash watched her go, before looking to Vanika. The reptile sat on her hunches, front claws hanging at her sides.

**_Nice. This could prove more productive then I originally thought…_** Slowly getting on all fours, Vanika took off into the trees, disappearing before the human boy could ask what she meant.

- - -

"We're going to need a plan," Misty said. It was raining, and she sat under one of the large trees with Brock and Ash. She was holding her head up on her palm, biting her lip, as she stared at them. "We surely can't stay here forever."

"That's right. You still have more badges to get, Ash, and the pokemon league isn't going to go into a stand still just because we are hanging around here," the oldest boy commented. Looking off into the rain, with an almost absent look, Ash didn't reply. "_Ash?_ Earth to trainer, earth to trainer, come in!"

"Oh, oh…what about the league?" he asked. They frowned at him.

"What's with you today? You've been daydreaming on and off. What gives?" Misty looked questioningly at Ash, who shrugged absentmindedly. Brock and she exchanged worried glances.

"Are you all there? What's going on in that head of yours?" Brock waved a hand in front of his face, getting a scowl out of him. Ash glared at them, before closing his eyes and lying back.

"I don't want to go." They blinked, gaping at the lounging teenager.

"You don't want to leave? Why? You have so much to do before the tournament-" they started. Ash shook his head, his lips turning down in a frown.

"There is stuff I want to do _here_. I can always enter the tournament later." Ash sat up, his eyes wide, innocent, and bright. "There's…just things I want to do. Leaving isn't one of them."

**_Your time is up?_** Silvanus appeared beside Brock, hankering down as if he had been part of the conversation the whole time. **_So soon?_**

He obviously wasn't unhappy about it. Misty opened her mouth to reply with a 'yes,' when she was quickly cut off. "No. We don't have anywhere we have to go," the black-haired boy replied, eyeing the young woman, clearly not pleased with what she was thinking of doing.

**_Oh, but the world is so wide. You have many places you could go see and experience._** Ash narrowed his eyes. He could see exactly where the silver creature was taking it; obviously, so could Misty and Brock, by the expressions they had.

"It's fine, we have plenty of time for that." They heard something nearing them from another direction. **_Oh, stop it, Silve. If you can't see what's happening, then you are blind as a bat,_** the voice of Vanika said.

Silvanus 'scowled', his mind link colored a tinge of red. The three humans stared in confusion at each other, then turned when Vanika's attention was on the trees beyond them. **_There she is…she's been gone all morning._**

"We have snails again," May said, as she came into view from behind a clump of bushes and trees, ignoring the scratches she was getting on her bare legs. Misty had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp, the sight of the other girl shocking. She looked like she had been drenched – and most likely was, what with the rain – and what little clothing she wore was ripped and torn from the wear and tear of living out in such conditions as the forest.

"Oh my," the gym leader mumbled, before giving her two male companions sharp looks. The older of the two was glancing away, surprising her, while the younger had froze, turning quite a bright red in the face and becoming slack-jawed. They could hear Vanika's laughter through the Mind speak, the bubbly sound filling their heads. **_My point has been proven Silve!_**

"What? What'd I do?" the oblivious girl asked, as Misty quickly stood up and grabbed hold of her arm, and proceeded to pull her toward the cave. Hopping through the puddles and mud, Vanika and Silvanus followed them. "What's going on?"

"…..you're going to catch a cold wearing things like that in this rain." Misty wondered just how much Vanika had told her, and how much she'd need to explain herself if she told the truth. "What else do you have for clothes?"

"Um…" May shuffled over to one of the farther back shelves, and pulled the coverings off of it; underneath was several sets of clothes – most were relatively clean and unworn out, but showed signs of starting to. Misty picked up one of the shirts, inspecting it closer, before smiling. **_We did what we could,_** Vanika said, **_Though I don't think that human muchly appreciated it when we took those._**

"They work. Go ahead and change, so that you can keep warm…and perhaps not make both of our friends embarrassed." May's face reflected her confusion, but Misty just smiled and shrugged, walking out to give her some privacy.


	4. Chapter Three: Sleeping Soundly

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: XD I am still amazed at how fast everything originally progressed in this story. Yes, I put that as past tense, because I wrote this chapter last November. Overall, it seems like it is better that way since there isn't much I could do with the setting that wouldn't be overdone anyway (and kinda is overdone at some point...eh). Yes. Anyway, read, enjoy, review, go take a nap. XD

Warning: Even though it isn't in this chapter (or even in the first few chapters), there is a semi-adult scene or two later on. Rawr. Don't read those parts if you don't like it.

- Chapter Three: Sleeping Soundly -

"Whatcha reading?" Ash asked, crouching down next to Silvanus, who was in turn next to May. Her nose was wrinkled, giving her a pained look, before she turned to talk to him instead of staring at the page.

"Some book by an old human," she answered, "about…these….things."

**_It's simple Algebra. Al-ge-bra, _**Silvanus sighed, **_Those are equations._** Blankly, May went from staring at the page, to Ash, then to Silvanus. Curiously, Ash took the book from her and scanned over the page, his eyes bugging out at the sight of the various numbers and…letters.

"….That is beyond my level, that's for sure," he said, quickly giving it back before a headache formed from having to look at so many numbers. Ash wondered what was the use of such a thing, and why they'd be teaching it to begin with. **_Because the humans mentioned it._**

When both children blinked, Silvanus sniffed. **_One of those teacher humans was speaking of it to another one, so we decided to see about getting the book, since it is something humans know._** "Not all of them," May remarked, pointing at Ash.

The dragon sat, silent, before sniffing again and leaping up into a tree above them. They heard a snippet of a thought – **_childish girl_** – before he had shut his link off and disappeared. For several minutes they sat in perfect silence, neither commenting nor moving.

It was Ash that finally broke the moment. He pushed himself up, stretched, and smiled. "I think I'll leave you to your studies…gods, I know you need the quiet, what with such work."

"No, no, no, no, don't!" May grabbed hold of his ankles, keeping him in his place, shaking her head violently. "Stay! I like having you around."

What precisely that was supposed to mean exactly, never came to him. All that mattered at that moment was that he was stuck with having to stand there with a girl that refused to let go of his legs, for the sheer fact of wanting company. "_Why?_ What would possess you to like that?"

"….what does that mean? Possess?" Ash had to force himself into not laughing or smiling at how she said 'poses-ess' rather then possess. Instead, he sat back down, keeping his head down to hide his grin.

"Possess. It means…what would make you do something. So in the case of what I said, I asked what would make you like having me around." Her lips formed an 'O' again – Ash was starting to wonder if she always did that when someone told her something like that – and she repeated the word over again.

She shrugged. "I'm…I don't know." May fingered the edge of the page, her expression betraying the confusion and anxiety that was at that very moment eating at her, before sighing and shaking her head, going back to reading the explanations Silvanus had assigned her.

Ash sat watching her quietly, as the minutes ticked on. He looked around at the trees, all of which were gently swaying in the breeze. It was a change compared to the cities he had been in the last few days before setting the plans to stay with Vanika, Silvanus, and May for awhile.

Before long, it started getting dim out, the slanting rays of light from the sun moving and in some cases disappearing entirely, as the sun started setting. May growled, flinging the thick tome into the woods and folding her arms, staring ahead, both angry and pouting. "Are...you alright?" Ash asked, keeping his voice cautiously low,

"It's too hard! I only know those things with the x's and that line with the dots, and adding and subtracting," she whined. Ash stared blankly, trying to figure out what she was talking about, before it finally clicked.

"Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction?" May was silent for a minute, before she nodded. "You're not good at math, are you? Or is it that you are really just starting to work on it?"

"...I'm no good." May frowned. "Vanika has been teaching me...math...up until now, but she even admitted it was a waste of time to even try."

"Then why is Silvanus trying?" Ash asked, as the quickly tiring girl scooted over and laid her head on his shoulder, disregarding the fact that it might not be appreciated. She yawned.

"I dunno. Vanika says he's stubborn." May went silent again, watching the last remnants of the light filter out from between the leaves as night fully took over. Ash slowly and careful slid an arm around her waist, tilting his head against her's, and closed his eyes to be able to just listen to what was around them; the low whistle, the high chirping, and the familiar tinkling sound of the waterfall that was elsewhere in the forest.

**_Comfortable?_** The voice was gentle, barely audible through the weak link, and very much Vanika's. Ash smiled, getting a visual of the sneaky creature sitting in one of the many trees, hidden among the foliage**_. I'll take that as a yes. Whenever you are ready, come back to the cave. That other boy that was with you has a fire made so we have a little more warmth then we had last night._**

"In a while," he said, as the yellow identity faded from his mind. There really was no rush to be getting back, and no reason to worry about the others.

- - -

"Did you find them?" both humans asked, as Vanika slinked through the cave entrance. She nodded her reptilian head, folding her wings against her back as she sat on her hind legs next to Silvanus. **_They're in the forest. May fell asleep during her studies, and Ash is having to tolerate being a human pillow...though, 'tolerate' isn't exactly the word I should use. The poor child had lost so much sleep..._**

There was a moment of quiet, as they all looked at the female dragon, then at each other. "Something tells me there is more to this then just him being nice," Misty said, scratching Pikachu as he and Brock nodding in agreement with her.

"What do you mean though, lost so much sleep? Over what?" Brock questioned, drawing curious looks from Silvanus and Vanika. The former shrugged, seeming almost indifferent about the troubled girl he'd been in charge of for ten years, and the latter shook her head. **_I am trying to figure that out myself...though, I do have a hunch, but that will have to stay with me and me alone._** "Anyway...never trust a teenage boy to keep his mind focused when in the presence of a cute girl, eh Misty?"

"You cannot be talking!" she snickered, referring to the elder leader's love of cute and beautiful women - especially if those women were Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny - in the process. It was a common occurrence for him to try to hit on one at least once per city or town, without fail. "It's probably just a crush, if even that."

**_I wouldn't act too sure. You never know when it comes to matters of the human heart. _**"Cha?" Pikachu's black nose twitched, "Pikapi!"

- - -

When the mosquitoes started getting annoying, Ash looked around, trying to think of a way to manage trying to move without startling the young girl awake. Not finding one, he opted to just go about it as slow as he could, taking each movement with wariness and carefulness. It took twice as long as it normally would, but in the end he had managed to get onto his knees and start shifting May so he could get her up also.

Inching to his feet, Ash made sure to keep his hand against her back, holding her upright until he could finally pick her up without falling over and hurting them both. For him, it was an awkward experience; it was one of the first times he had to carry someone human, not to mention on such uneven grounds. The trees made it even harder, making him do turns and twists that were near painful.

It was a relief when the flickering light of the cave greeted them from the minute they entered the clearing. The inside entrance was warm and dimly orange, the shelves throwing shadows on the lower ones and putting on an interesting show. Ash paused, seeing the lengthy shadows of the group in the main cavern dwelling even before he entered; he was unsure as to how exactly he would explain the situation without making matters seem stranger then he was sure they already looked.

The time to think it over was cut short, when his Pokemon raced out to meet him. "Sh...hey buddy, you didn't miss me that much did ya?" he asked, trying to get his voice to be as playful as it could get.

Pikachu's head tilted to the side, black eyes wide and unjudging, letting out a little squeal. Letting out a little sigh, Ash silently hoped neither of his traveling companions would start freaking out and started around the last turn into the main dwelling, turning sideways to keep from hurting May with the rough stone walls. Everyone fell quiet, where it almost caused a ringing sound to start from the lack of any other sound. "...Hi?"

"I'm not commenting," Misty said, elbowing Brock discreetly as a warning to him to do the same. Ash shrugged, regretting the action instantly when May started stirring from the sudden movement. Biting his lip, both from worry and from pain - he was feeling rather sore after the trek through the woods and from just standing there - he went over to Vanika. With help from the dragon, he was once again situated.

"What exactly happened?" Brock asked, ignoring the sharp glances Misty kept giving him; he was, he knew, asking what she wanted to know but didn't want to ask. It ended up being Vanika answered, instead of Ash: **_I explained that already, did I not?_**

Silvanus returned from another 'room,' dragging along a blanket of sorts with his powerful jaws. Dropping it next to Ash, the surly reptile stalked away without a word, tail swishing left and right. "I really didn't feel like waking her up," he added on to Vanika's vague answer, getting a small half smile, "though...she did lose that math book."

**_Not a large loss,_** Vanika laughed, **_She'll live without it._** "Yeah, though Silvanus won't be too happy most likely," the red-head remarked, as they all then joined in the laughter. **_It might be a good idea if we all set down to bed. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow._**

"Huh? Why?" Misty asked. Vanika nodded toward the shelves, which several of them were empty. **_We need supplies, so we need to go to the town near here to get them. It'll be easier if everyone helps._** "That means we can help you with getting everything bought, and also get that one badge out of the way."

Ash scowled at her, not bothering to reply to the meaning behind the suggestion. He started untangling the blanket, keeping hunched over to keep from having to look his friends' in the face. It was obvious what they were thinking of trying to do, and he didn't like it.

- - -

Vanika laid, curled in a loose ball, on the stone floor. She was the only one still awake, as there was the low, rhythmic sound of breathing and the whistling of the breeze at the cave entrance. At the first sign of moment, she quickly narrowed her eyes, squinting to keep her eyes as closed as she could and still be able to see. 

Through the dimness – the fire had long gone out, leaving nothing but glowing embers – she saw May rise, sitting up and stretching, before standing to shuffle out quietly. Raising her head, Vanika waited and watched until she returned. Quickly going back to acting, the dragon slit an eye open again.

If she could have smiled, she would have. May paused at the entrance to the dwelling, hesitant about making the decision of where to go. Looking toward Vanika and Silvanus, she started to step toward where she had originally been sleeping then stopped again, twisting to look at Misty and Brock. Vanika had a hard time not snickering at the show.

May stood watching them for a moment, frowning, before finally going back over and picking the blanket up, plopping down in its place. Getting wrapped up in it, she snuggled in close to Ash again, going back to sleep. Vanika's tail twitched when he moved, putting an arm around her.

**_Don't you know snooping is rude?_** Silvanus' sleepy voice said, **_What _are_ you doing?_**

**_Recording the progress._** Vanika lifted her scaly head to look at her mate, her voice sharp but quiet. **_The progress you haven't been noticing. Books only go so far._**

Silvanus started blinking, baffled, until Vanika jerked her head in the pair's direction. He stayed silent, contemplating it for a moment, until he closed his eyes. **_…Shall we have to learn the humans' way of mating now?_**

Vanika let out a long sigh via the Mind link, which was colored in sadness. **_No. I think this is one thing we cannot teach her in what to do. She will have to go about this on her own._**


	5. Chapter Four: Wicker City Mayhem

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Parts of this chapter crack me up. Even though it shouldn't, it did, and continues to do so. XD I even start feeling bad for Ash at some point, but that...usually doesn't last long. Haha. So, go get your snacks and drinks, grab a pillow, and read and review. 8D

Warning: Even though it isn't in this chapter (or even in the first few chapters), there is a semi-adult scene or two later on. Rawr. Don't read those parts if you don't like it.

- Chapter Four: Wicker City Mayhem -

"What do you mean?" May asked, staring the female reptile in the eyes. It was morning, and the air was crisp and fresh. Everything outside was in a state of wetness, with dew covering the ground, the leaves, and rocks. "I've never been out before!"

**_This is the perfect time for you to see what it is like in the city, where humans live. With three escorts, you will be safer then if it was just Silvanus and I._** Vanika tilted her head, wings furling and unfurling on her back. May crouched down, mimicking the dragon, and frowned. "But Vanika-" **_Do not 'but Vanika' me. You surely do not want to stay here forever? Surely, you would at least want to take this chance to witness what happens between groups of humans like yourself?_**

"I dunno…" Vanika 'smiled', getting a brilliant idea when she spotted Pikachu coming toward them at a quick trot; the yellow Pokemon had taken an instant liking to the creature. **_Or,_** she suggested, slyly, **_you could go watch that young friend of yours when he gets that 'badge'…I am positive he would like the company and the motivation._**

"Oh, but, what if…" May took Pikachu onto her lap, loosely hanging on him as she rocked back and forth. "What if that isn't the case…what if they don't…"

"Chaaaa." Pikachu lifted his chin, letting her scratch him softly. "Pikachu, pika." **_That will not be the case,_** Vanika said firmly, watching girl and Pokemon both, **_You'll go?_**

May nodded, not noticing her adoptive 'mother's laugh.

- - -

On the trek through the forest, it was almost totally quiet. Most of them where lost in their own thoughts, and knew not to bother the others if they had something they suddenly wanted to say.

It took an exceedingly short amount of time to come up to the outside limits of the city. Resembling Cerulean City and Indigo City in Kanto with its tall buildings and bustling streets, it seemed like an almost living entity. May edged back, her head down but still looking at the place she had never seen in the ten years she had spent in the Wicker Maiden Forest.

"It's too big." Vanika and Silvanus, surprisingly, didn't show themselves like expected. Frowning, Misty turned to the younger girl, who had started shivering.

"It only looks like it is. When we get in, it'll seem a lot smaller," she said. She looked pointedly at Ash and Brock, her mouth set in a grim line. "Brock, you said you needed to go get food for the Pokemon, so go do that. And as for you-" Misty put her hands on her hips, turning to the black-haired boy. "You should go to the Gym, and get your badge while May and I go get some new clothes-"

"NO!" May yelled, startling the trio. They jumped. "I want to see that Gym thing, I want to-"

She cut herself off, realizing what she had been about to say and turning a bright pink in embarrassment. There was an awkward silence, until Ash snapped his fingers, gaining their attention. "How about this for a plan," he suggested, "I go with you shopping, and then go to the Gym, since you want to go with so badly."

Misty threw her arms up mumbling under her breath, as May nodded, smiling widely. She ran and jumped, forcing Ash to haphazardly catch her, doing a clumsy spin on his heel. "Thaaaank yooouu," she said, as they ogled at her in amazement.

Shrugging helplessly, Ash just smiled back; there was no point in starting a lecture on why to _not_ jump someone unexpectedly when all it would do is make her depressed on getting it 'wrong.' Ignoring the disapproving looks he was getting from both Misty and Brock, he gently set her on her feet. "Let's get this done with, so we aren't keeping Vanika and Silvanus waiting too long."

As May started to run off, Misty quickly grabbed hold of Ash's arm, keeping him from following. "Go with her," she said to Brock, before turning her stony glare back to him, "as for you…what the hell are you thinking? First you wonder off, staying out in the woods for hours on end, then you start pulling stunts like this just to get a smile out of her!"

Ash jerked out of her grip, rubbing the sore flesh gingerly. "You make that sound like a bad thing."

Rolling her eyes, Misty sighed, digging in her mind for a way to word what she had to say without setting off the teenager's temper. "Ash, it's just, you know…all you are really doing is setting yourself up to be hurt."

"And why, O Mistress of Knowledge, is that?" Misty scowled, hearing the blatant sarcasm in his voice.

"Don't get smart now. You know just as well as I do that we can't stick around here forever. _You_ have a tournament to participate in, _I_ have a gym waiting in Kanto, and so does Brock." Ash stared at her, blinking, before he finally shrugged and shouldered past her.

"Maybe so, but none of us have been in a hurry, not until now." Ash pointed out, "All of a sudden, you've been all about getting out of here and going on our way. Why?"

"Because we _are_ in a hurry! You only have a few more weeks to get the final five badges, and it will take a good few days between each town just to get to the Gyms." Misty answered, following close behind, "It has nothing to do with Vanika or Silvanus, and it certainly has nothing to do with May! If it wasn't for the time, I'd agree that it'd be nice to stay around here for awhile, but until the tournament is over-"

"Never mind it, Misty. Can we talk about this later?" he asked warily, looking toward Brock and May, both of which were looking back in their direction curiously. The redhead frowned, but nodded her consent as they neared the two. "So what is the plan? Where do we go first?"

"Well, I think it might be nice to get some new clothes and trinkets." Misty smiled, the atmosphere lightening up considerably at the statement. "So, how about we just walk around and see where we end up?"

"Sounds good to me," Brock said, as Ash nodded. All in agreement, they started into the loud streets of the city.

- - -

Once in the heart of the city, things where much less crowded. Walking along the sidewalk, they watched the people surrounding them, all of them talking or doing some window shopping in the commercial district. May stopped, pausing to peer into the frosted window of a jewelry and glass shop with an idle curiosity. "What are these?" she asked, pointing at the thin chain that was suspending the crystal pendant by the small loop.

"That's a necklace," Misty replied, opening the door to the inside, "Come on, there are more in here."

"Ohhhhh!" The door made a tinkling sound from the bell that was connected to it, as they entered. The inside consisted of row after row of glass show cabinets, holding a variety of jewelry; necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings….. "What are these? And these? And what about these?"

After much explaining about the concept of the jewels, May wondered off, enthralled with the glittering things that took up all of the store. Looking at Brock, who just shrugged and grinned impishly, Ash ran after her; the last thing they needed was for something to be broken accidentally.

Near the back of the store, there were four people: May, the shopkeeper – who looked rather disgruntled, at least to Ash – and then a couple that were looking into the case that held the engagement rings. "What types are these?" she asked, getting a scowl out of the shopkeeper.

"Madam, this is a place where you _buy_ jewelry, not where you learn about different gemstones." May, looking rather surprised at the sour reply, quickly edged backward, and right into Ash. As the shopkeeper went back to attending the couple, she turned to look at him, blushing.

"I'm sorry," she said, just as quickly stepping away from him. As Ash was about to try to assure her that it was all right, there was a high pitched squeal as the woman that had been looking at the engagement rings hugged her would-be husband.

"Oh, I love it! It is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen!" The blonde had a huge grin, as the man slipped it onto her finger, the small diamond sparkling. As he wrote out the check that would pay for it, she admired the stone that sparkled in the light of one of the lamps, checking out the faces of the crystal with the utmost love and respect she had for her fiancée.

When the purchase was finished, they started out of the store, holding hands and talking to each other as they went. "They look happy." May commented, as the shopkeeper stalked past, "What were they doing though?"

"That's called holding hands…it's kinda like a way to be close to someone you like," Ash said. As May nodded and went back toward the front of the store to where Misty and Brock where, the shopkeeper came forward.

"What is wrong with that child?" he asked incredulously. Ash glared at him; he flinched.

"Nothing is _wrong_ with her." Jerkily, the young man wound his way around the cases, not bothering to look back at the wide-eyed elder.

- - -

Out in the sunshine again, their next stop was at a small clothing boutique that was just down the street. It smelled strongly of perfume _and_ chocolate; Ash couldn't help gagging from the shock effect it had, along with May and Brock. Misty seemed rather used to it, and started to shuffle through the racks immediately.

Once she had stopped having to cover her face, May followed Misty around, looking at whatever the elder girl pulled out. "This is the joy of having girls around," Ash said.

Brock snickered. "You are the one that said you'd come with," he pointed out, getting elbowed for the effort.

"I know! That doesn't mean I can't say anything though." They went silent again, looking around in stifling boredom. Ash leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms across his chest to wait, when he heard Misty's exasperated voice say, "No, no, you go in there! See…"

Rubbing his eyes, he wondered what mischief they were getting up to when something – or, more accurately, someone – came up and started tugging at him. Ash heard Brock whistle, a low and melodic sound, and peeked out from between his fingers to see what exactly was the reason for it.

Bouncing on her heels, May stood pulling on his arm excitedly, her green eyes wide and bright. "Lookit what Misty picked out for me!"

Ash wondered, suddenly, whether the red-haired gym leader knew just how to torture someone. Instead of the slightly worn combination skirt, shorts and shirt, she wore a light blue spaghetti-strap sundress that went to about knee-length, and that flattered her figure nicely. Giving her a strained smile, Ash waved her off to go look around some more. "I think I'm going to need that cold lake water after this trip," he admitted darkly, after she had gone to find Misty again.

"That's what happens…" the older male said, holding back from laughing at his suffering friend. It would certainly be a long morning for him, that much Brock could tell.

- - -

Once again finished, they started out. May hopped and skipped about, wearing her new dress instead of the old clothing from before, and obviously happy and content. Stopping suddenly, she turned, tilting her head to the side. "Can we get lunch?" she asked.

Ash looked at Misty, then at Brock; none of them had thought about finding a place to eat, nor that they would even need to up until then. "Well, if we can find a restaurant or something, yeah," he replied.

**_Hungry?_** Silvanus' deeper voice asked in their minds. May started spinning around, looking for him amongst the crowds of people. **_I believe there are some of those places where you get food the next square over._**

"Thanks, Silvanus," Brock said, as the spirit that was Silvanus faded away. "Let's go see if he was right."

Within a few minutes, they were standing at the end of another street. This one was lined with more stores and restaurants, the occasional café or coffeehouse, along with bars and pubs. "Which one?" May asked, her eyes wide from seeing so many different places that had food, "I want fish."

"…you want fish. Right then…um…what do you think?" Misty shrugged, looking up at the signs as they passed them. "Let's try this one, and hope they have some."

In all actuality, most of them didn't. It took several minutes to get to one that had not only fish, but also a variety of other things to eat. Taking seats around one of the outside tables – which was rather more trouble then they thought it would be, since May hadn't actually sat in a normal chair in years - the waitress gave them all menus and walked away.

"Can I get this?" May pointed at her menu, looking up expectantly at Ash for an answer. Not bothering to take his eyes off his own, he nodded.

"Just order whatever you want." Brock said, "It's our treat."

"'Our treat'?" She looked confused.

"If someone says it's their treat, that means they are paying for it so you don't have to," Ash clarified. By the time he had finished talking, the waitress had returned to take their orders, pen and pad in hand. It took only moments for her to take them, run into the building, then come back out with the plates. When she was done, she went on to the next table, leaving them to their own lunches.

"So, where exactly do we have to go next?" Misty asked, watching May poke at her shrimp with the fork and obviously struggling with it. "Just stab them with it, they'll stay on."

"We still need supplies for the Pokemon, so we should go to the Center and whatever shops they have that sell food and medicine for them," the other gym leader replied.

"Then do we go to that other place?" May asked, taking Misty's suggestion and finally getting to eat her lunch, "That gym?"

"Pokemon Gym, and yeah, we are going there too." Ash leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. "This one is for Ground mainly, isn't it?"

Brock nodded, as they continued to discuss the oncoming battle all the way through the rest of lunch. When the check was paid for and they were back on the streets, May stayed back from the others, mostly inwardly focused on her thoughts.

The trip to the Center took longer then anticipated, because of having to explain how the healing machinery worked and what it was for, but before they knew it they stood in front of the tall walls of the Pokemon Gym ready for the badge battle. "Ohhh, so what do you do here?" May asked, putting a hand up to trace the designs on the heavy door.

"It's like an arena where you have to fight, and when you win you are given a Badge…which is like a ranking item," the male gym leader explained. May's eyes widened as she wheeled around to look at Ash.

"What if you get hurt? Couldn't you die?" The three companions looked at each other, then each one shook their heads.

"No, because I'm not the one doing the fighting. My pokemon do, not me," Ash said, "and it's rare that one dies from a Pokemon Battle." With a reassuring smile, he pushed the doors open and entered.


	6. Chapter Five: The Gym Battle

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Yes, this chapter is...somewhat...odd. It just kinda turned out that way when I got through with it, and I can't seem to shake it. I know the battle scene is rather...mellow, if you will, but with needing to get to 50,000 words, I wanted to get out of the battle and back to the rest of the story. XD -passes out cupcakes and blankets- Review, people. :3 I know you all are out there. XD;;;; 4 Alerts and 510 hits shows that. o.-

Warning: No those adult scenes aren't in this chapter either (though there is one questionable part... o.0). Go forward a few more chapters and it'll be in there, when I get that chapter up. Ha.

- Chapter Five: The Gym Battle -

The inside was dark as they carefully tiptoed away from the door, warily looking about in case of there being some unknown obstacle that they couldn't see. Just as Misty was about to suggest trying again later, the lights flooded on and revealed the giant room for what it was; the floor was covered in dirt, not having an actual floor to begin with, and the walls were made of a smooth stone.

There were footsteps from the opposite end, and a gruff looking man appeared across the battlefield from them. His tousled gray and brown hair fell over a square-jawed and finely lined face. He called out, his voice matching his exterior: rough. "Visitors! What are you here about?" he asked.

"A Pokemon Battle. I'm trying to earn all of the badges so that I can take part in the main tournament that is in a few weeks." Ash went stiff, his muscles tightening, when the Leader stepped across the arena and stood in front of him.

"And who are they? What are your reasons?" he barked out. None-too-gently pushing the young trainer out of the way, he looked each person in the face, his hard eyes calculating and questioning.

"I'm Misty Waterflower, from the Cerulean City Gym," the redhead said. Brock came up next, meeting the stare with one of his own.

"I am Brock Slate, from the Pewter City Gym." Finally, the older man turned to May, raising a bushy eyebrow. She merely looked up at him, neither answering nor backing down from the stony glare; to her, he seemed like one of the Hunters that constantly trespassed in the Wicker Maiden Forest and anyone like that was someone she didn't like.

"And as for you?" Without replying, May turned and walked over to Ash, latching on tightly. Glaring at the Gym Leader, she stayed silent. "What have you? Can't you use those vocal cords all women have? The ones that never wear out?"

"Leave her alone, she didn't do anything to you." Ash snapped, as his eyes widened at the outburst, "Let's get this started, without harassing my friends preferably."

"Your name might help first." Ash narrowed his eyes.

"The same goes for you. Mine is Ash Ketchum." Laughing, the Gym Leader started back toward his platform, his large boots making loud thuds on the dirt floor.

"Kendrick." Spinning around, Kendrick pulled out two small balls, both red and white, and enlarged one. Ash pulled away from May, taking his place at the edge of the battlefield. "You first, kiddo."

Scowling at the word 'kiddo,' Ash sent Pikachu out. Kendrick let out a Sandslash, smirking confidently. The battle was on.

- - -

With Misty's urging, May went up the steps to the upper boardwalks with her and Brock to watch the fight. Sitting down with her legs dangling over the edge, she held onto the railing on either side of her tightly. Her eyes widened when the Sandslash appeared as suddenly as if it had came out of the ground itself.

She felt the metal flooring under her shake as the two Pokemon leaped at each other, doing their individual attacks on each other. They backed off, staring each other down, until repeating the original round again.

It went on in much the same way for awhile. May yawned, growing bored of the constant dash-strike-run tactic both sides where using. "Is this all they do? Run around biting at each other?" she asked, as Pikachu dove back toward Ash and did a turn to face the oncoming Sandslash.

"No, there is more to it then just that. You'll be seeing their other attacks soon enough," Brock said, just as Sandslash let out a shriek. Pikachu met the cry, letting out an electric shock. Her eyes went wide, bulging slightly, as the ensuring attacks where a mix of Ground and Electric, neither overwhelming the other.

"Down!" Kendrick yelled, as Sandslash fell, drained. Returning the beaten Pokemon, he unleashed another one, a round, brown one that had short limbs and a small head. Golem.

Once again, the battle started anew, this time with the stronger pokemon being Golem. They watched in nervous anticipation as Pikachu had to duck and dodge out of the way, weakened by the fight with Sandslash and needing a rest. "Pikachu, return, now."

Reluctantly, the yellow rodent trotted back over to Ash, and sat at his feet, panting. Thoughtfully, he picked out one of the five poke balls that was attached to his belt and tossed it out. With a roar, Charizard came into view, his great maw open, revealing a row of very sharp pointed teeth. "That looks like Silvanus and Vanika!" May said, leaning forward to get a better look at the curious creature.

"Not quite the same," Misty said, as the combatants started grappling, growling and glaring at each other. Charizard broke away, flying up into the air and unleashing a plume of fire down on the Ground and Rock type.

Easily, the Golem dug under the ground, disappearing from view into the dirt. For several minutes it looked at if it would be a stalemate, with neither Pokemon being able to make a move against the other; then, the large ball of rock flew out of the ground, striking Charizard as he fluttered down.

With a growl of rage, the dragon-like Fire type lashed out.

- - -

As the smoke cleared, it became clear that Charizard had won the battle, as the downed Golem groaned and rolled over time and time again. "Return!" Kendrick called, before looking sourly at the younger man, "You've won, fair and square. Take the Wicker Badge, and get before I have to have a go at you."

He flipped the small token, and it flew up and over the field. Just barely catching the thing, Ash smiled and nodded, gesturing to the group that was already starting down the stairs to follow.

"You won!" May said, as he held up the Badge so that the light would hit it just right. Ash nodded, his smile becoming a huge grin. "And you can get more of those?"

"Yeah, there are eight in all, and this is my fourth." Slipping the item into his pocket so he wouldn't lose it, Ash turned to regard them. "Where do we go now?"

"I think we're all finished, so we just have to go back to the forest," Brock replied, just as they heard the tell-tale rustling of the bushes around the side of the Gym building. Two pairs of eyes peered out at them brightly.

**_Have things gone well?_** Vanika and Silvanus came out of their hiding place, shaking the leaves off as they went. The group nodded in unison. **_Very good. Let us go back home…it is getting dark._**

- - -

Night set quietly over the forest. As the birds and small creatures of the day bedded down for well-earned sleep, the nocturnal insects and animals arose, coming out to get fed and to play in the dark.

May sat on one of the tree stumps that was situated in one of the smaller clearings of the forest. The forest itself seemed to be alive, as it swayed with the cool evening winds and whistled with it. She looked around slowly, taking in the sight of the gloom, before sighing.

What she hadn't told any of the others – not Ash, not Misty, not even Vanika – was that had been hearing people whispering nonstop about the forest itself. Statements such as 'it's haunted' or 'it's cursed' were a few that were mentioned. One person was even going into great detail on the 'spirit of the forest' that gave it the name Wicker Maiden….

"Wicker Maiden….why do _I_ have to be the Wicker Maiden?" she sighed, wringing her hands together.

"Talking to the trees?" May jumped at the sound of the teasing voice. Turning around, she watched Ash step down from the slight drop that was at the north edge of the clearing. She smiled.

"No, I don't think they would really give me any nice answers like you do." Ash snickered, sitting down on the edge of the stump when May moved to give him some room, hiding her face in her hands. "Nooo."

"Come on, what are you suffering about?" he asked, gently pulling her hands down. May looked away, feeling the sting as tears started forming. She shook her head.

"No, no….nothing." She pulled her legs up, leaning back against him as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "I'm just thinking about things."

"What type of things?" Ash relaxed, putting his arms around her. May shrugged.

"Just the town and the guy in the gem shop and that mean one in the Gym," she half admitted, frowning. He squeezed her, nodding thoughtfully. "And there were all those people and it was loud…"

"That's what cities like that are like." Ash said, his voice slightly regretful, "Not everyone is exactly nice and you can't hear your own thoughts sometimes."

"And you have to go to more of those cities?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him. Ash nodded. "When?"

"Not for a while." Smiling again, he twisted around to peer into the dark of the surrounding woods. "How about we start back? They'll start worrying soon."

Agreeing, and much happier then before, May uncurled and stood from the stump. When they both were up and in the trees, she speeded up her pace to match Ash's long strides, and grabbed his hand, grinning.

- - -

Having finished his breakfast, Ash stretched out his limbs, listening to the cracking in his joints. "I think I'll take a long dip." he said, getting up, "I could use it!"

"Certainly could, you have that right," Misty snickered, getting a swat to the head by the laughing teenage boy as he walked past. "It might be a good idea if we all wash up today, since we've been walking to town and back, and getting dirty from working in the forest and just being in it."

May blinked, before smiling. "And since Vanika and Silvanus already did, we don't have to wait for them to finish." As Brock and Misty started clearing away the dishes and pots from the meal, she took to the cave.

Searching about the shelves, she found the one that held all of her bath things – including a towel, soap, and a toy from when she was little – and scooped them up. Grabbing her new sun dress, she placed them all in the basket she used whenever she would be near the lake, and carried it out.

Neither of the Gym Leaders even looked at her as she walked – or skipped, it was hard to tell whether she was just walking with a bouncy step or not – off into the trees.

- - -

Ash kneeled down at the edge of the lake, putting a hand in the water to test the temperature. It felt cold, like expected, but it would be warmer as the day wore on and the sun was given time to beat down on it. Before he had even pulled his shoes off, Pikachu had dove in, doggy paddling around.

"You waste no time, do you?" he asked as he undressed, taking care to put his clothes on a rock that was far enough away that they wouldn't get wet, and carefully stepped down the slippery, sandy shallow edge of the lake. "Just don't accidentally electrocute me again."

"Chu?" Nose twitching, Pikachu turned onto his back and floated past, letting his cheeks spark slightly. Ash rolled his eyes, using one hand to splash the unknowing pokemon and ducked down so that the water swallowed him up before a bolt could be sent his direction.

As he slowly resurfaced, Ash noted that his friend and ally was suddenly very still, balanced on an upraised rock in the water. Pikachu's ears shot up straight, and he let out a loud squeal. Staring at the startled pokemon, he started to turn to look at what caused it, before deciding against that idea. "Am I right in assuming I should not look back?" he said.

Before Pikachu could even reply, Ash's eyes widened as they heard the _splush_ of water parting and making room for another form. He bit his lip, not daring to look as there was the continuous splashes. "Please, please, please only be Brock and Silvanus or even Vanika," he breathed, as Pikachu tilted his head curiously.

The hope was dashed. As the water stopped moving and rippling finally, there was silence, then a…meow. Incredulously, Ash spun around, the curiosity that was the noise overwhelming his thought that it would be best to try to not look. "………….."

It very nearly didn't even register in his mind what he was seeing, it was so shocking to him; the meowing sound was actually coming from a toy that looked like a cat sitting in a sail boat, which was being held onto by May. When it finally sank in, Ash put a hand up to his face, shaking his head.

"May! What in the name of the nine levels of hell are you _doing_?" he asked, turning to glare at Pikachu, who had started laughing hysterically. Turning bright red, Ash sighed, when she looked at him in confusion.

"What? I'm just taking a bath," she said, holding up the toy to show it off, "with you!"

"And you see nothing wrong with that?" Ash felt like tripping himself up and sinking back down into the water, but resisted the urge to. May shook her head.

"No…what's wrong?" Ash bit his lip, tasting blood, wondering what strange statement she was going to make. "Vanika and Silvanus…"

His head jerked up, what was actually going on dawning on him. Ash slowly turned back to look at her, pointedly trying his hardest to keep his eyes locked onto her wide ones. "Wait." he said, "You mean, they always do this?"

May nodded, actually smiling. Briefly giving Pikachu another glare, Ash once again sighed, but smiled back nonetheless. Letting the toy float away, she rushed forward and hugged him. "You aren't mad?" she asked.

Ash knew he had just turned an even darker red then before, as he carefully took hold of her shoulders and pushed her back. "May, people…typically don't do this type of thing unless they either have been together for a while or are married or just really, really, really like each other."

Blinking, she stared at him for several moments, clearly thinking over what he said, before beaming. "Let's get married then!"

"….do you even know what that means?" he asked, blanching. Free to move about again, May took to chasing after the sailboat that had floated away. She shook her head, peering back at him.

"What's it matter though?" May plopped down, sitting in the shallower water – which actually went up to her shoulders once she sat down – and started making the boat jump invisible waves. "I…"

Disregarding his still lingering embarrassment, Ash sat next to her, watching the water ripple around the toy. "I'm sorry." He looked at May in confusion, meeting her saddened gaze. "I keep messing up and doing everything wrong-"

"Do not say that!" May jumped when he yelled, going wide eyed and alarmed. "If you feel that something is right, then it is!"

"But you just said-" Ash shook his head, silencing her with an upraised hand.

"To Hell and be damned what I said. May, I tell you what people _normally_ do, but that doesn't mean you have to just go along with it and start acting that way." Ash looked away briefly, frowning, before once again turning toward her. "Listen, I'm fine, you're fine, the others are fine. If…" He blushed, flustered, as he tried to form the right words. "…if you want to come out here with me or vice versa…that's ok. The same goes for anything else."

May paused, letting go of her toy. She turned her head to glance at him, seeing the sincerity in his brown eyes, before smiling. "You mean I don't have to do everything like those people in town did?" she asked.

Ash grinned. "Ah….no. Not unless you want to. Otherwise, just be what you want to be," he replied, as she lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

They both fell back into the water, submerged for a few seconds as Ash struggled to sit back up, laughing when they could finally breath again. "Won't they not agree though?" May suddenly asked; the 'they' she referred to was obviously Brock and Misty.

He shrugged, wondering about the answer himself – though, he had a feeling he knew it. "I'm not sure, actually." Ash admitted, as Pikachu paddled over once he saw that the danger was over, "Though, whether or not they do…doesn't matter."

- - -

"Hey, Brock, where did May go off to?" Misty asked, tapping him on the shoulder. The elder Leader peered up from his work on the PokeFood. He was only able to shake his head and shrug, not knowing any more then she did. **_Perhaps she went for a walk._**

Silvanus was stretched out on one of the lower branches of a tree above them, his tail wrapped around it to keep a firm hold. His green eyes were closed, but it was obvious he was awake. Vanika, on the other hand, was quite active; she was doing various moves, including kicks, spins, and dancing. **_No, no, I saw her get the cat and boat earlier, and the basket, so I think she went down to the lake._**

"Wait, didn't…" His interest caught, Brock looked up at the darting dragon. "Didn't Ash say he was going there earlier too?"

Misty nodded, pursing her lips. It was not looking at all good. "Yes, he did." She crossed her arms, looking in the direction of the small body of water. "We now have a situation that is getting out of hand."

Vanika came to a stop, freezing into her position. **_How so? Things seem to be going well. _**"They are getting too close, too fast." the redhead explained, as the green creature patiently slithered over to sit at her feet. "In the end, though, it won't work out. Ash is not the type to stay in one place for a long period of time, if he can avoid it. May, on the other hand, easily will sit down and stay put."

"Actually, we don't know that for sure." Brock pointed out, frowning at her, "Have any of us considering asking her about that?"

**_How about you ask instead of debate?_** Silvanus rolled over, his claws hanging down on either side of the branch, and peered at them. **_You might get some better answers._**

**_You can do that now, in fact, _**Vanika said, as there were footsteps and rustling coming from the forest surroundings, **_Your situation-makers are coming back._**

Right on time, Ash, May, and Pikachu arrived, pushing the thorny bushes out of the way. "Uh, oh," the dark-haired boy said, noticing the looks from all sides they were getting.

**_Have a nice swim?_** Vanika asked, giving a very good impression of a human smile, her sharp teeth glistening. **_Or did something else happen?_**

Both teenagers blushed, glancing at each other in embarrassment and nervousness. "Nothing like….that type of stuff." May replied, toying with the handle of her basket, "We were just talking is all."

**_I am so sure you did not notice anything about him at all,_** Silvanus' drawling voice said, causing the young girl to go even redder then before, **_It is the same with all creatures, so do not think I do not know._**

"No! I wasn't…" Vanika shot her mate a glare, silencing his inner laughter. **_That is enough! There is no reason to humiliate either of them, considering we do the same thing!_**

"That was something I had not expected to hear," Misty said, raising an eyebrow, "nor that I wanted to hear." Shaking her head, she turned toward the pair that was standing only feet away, giving each other quick nervous looks. "Now, what really went on?"

Ash put his hands up, gaping at her. "All we did was sit in the water and talk…well, Pikachu did keep laughing at us, but that's it." When Misty gave him a disbelieving look, he frowned. "Honest."

"Hm, I don't doubt it," Brock piped up. Misty sighed and nodded, agreeing with him on it. "Now, who wants to go out and get me some firewood?"

"I'll go get it this time," the redhead quickly said, dashing off into the trees. She wanted some time away from the others, and fast.


	7. Chapter Six: Forest Raid

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Hm. Finally, we get to one of the first major chapters of the story, which brings up one of the short plot lines for DG, which has many, many short ones and a few longer ones.

Happy Mother's Day to those who celebrate it, and I hope you all remembered to go give your mommies, grandmas, and other such people a hug. :D

Warning: No those adult scenes aren't in this chapter either. Go forward a few more chapters and it'll be in there, when I get that chapter up. Ha.

- Chapter Six: Forest Raid -

"What did you find?" Pausing from his constant pacing, the shaggy-haired man looked toward the woman that was standing at his study door, holding a stack of papers and books. Taking them from her, he waved her off, smiling to himself. "This is exactly what I needed…"

Setting the stack on the large cherry desk, he thumbed through the books, looking at the various illustrations and pictures that showed the forest that was only a few miles away in various states – Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter – and creatures that inhabited it. He noted that two pages were heavy on text and had very few pictures; it spoke of some type of larger reptilian creature living in the forest, two of them, along with some type of humanoid.

Staring at it, he rose an eyebrow. It also spoke of it being speculation and rumor, that there was no proof that there were any strange beings or spirits in the forest. The book went into eye witness accounts of different occurrences in and around the strange forest, many of them containing a story of seeing someone in the trees walking or running, or that they saw the winged creatures either directly or indirectly.

"Curious...so many myths..." He picked up the papers and ruffled through them, his eyes darting as he read through. "A treasure that no one has seen...word on word 'monsters' roaming the forest...a mystery woman that no one can seem to get close to unless she attacks them...very curious."

Picking up the phone, he smirked, and dialed in the number for his brother. As there was a click and he heard the voice of the other man, he flipped over some of the notes. "Yes, Garth, I have a proposition for you..."

- - -

**_I have a bad feeling._** Vanika paced, her wings furled and tail waving. She had her head down, her nose nearly touching the ground**_. Something is happening...something is going to happen...I don't like this._**

**_There is nothing here. Everyone is safe, everyone is sound, and no other creature, human or otherwise, has neared the forest._** Silvanus peered at her, lazily and with an almost indifferent feeling. The female sighed, her scales almost visibly paling.

"Are you alright?" She turned to see both Misty and Brock, looking at her with worried faces. **_I'm fine._** Vanika whimpered down, going stiff and alert. **_Where's May?_**

"Where else?" Brock said, smiling slightly, "In the forest. She wanted to go with when Ash went to go do some training with Pikachu and his other pokemon."

"Are you sure about that? I wouldn't call what is really going on training," Misty pointed out sourly. Silvanus narrowed his eyes. **_Have you all nothing better to talk about then them? Ever sense we came back from the city, it is nothing but talk, talk, talk about them! Them, and the lake._**

As he glared at them, he relaxed again, closing his eyes. **_You should put some trust into your friend. Just as you would do what you feel is right, he is doing the same._**

On those last words, Silvanus fell into his nap, leaving the two humans to contemplate what he had just said.

- - -

"Pikachu! Pika!" At the unknown order, the pokemon lined up, facing the make-shift targets. The yellow mouse pointed with one small paw, and let out a squeal, unleashing his own attack at the same time that the others unleashed theirs.

Listening to the talking of the group and to the sound of the targets taking the strikes relentlessly, Ash laid several feet away, staring up at the branches of the trees and at the small patches of light and sky that could be seen. He knew he should have been up helping his team, but he had actually told them to do what they will on their own so that he could rest for awhile. Before that, he had been working with them for a good three hours.

Now, he just watched the leaves through the gloom and listened to the sleepy sounds of the forest itself. "Why don't they stop?" May asked, stretching, and looked toward her passive friend.

He shrugged. "They don't want to. They will eventually, whenever they get tired or bored."

"When will you have to go to get your other badges?" She rolled to be on her stomach, and propped herself up on her arms. Ash frowned, turning his head to look at her. "Because...won't that take a long, long time?"

"Most likely in a few days, I'm afraid." May's expression changed from worried to what looked like sad. "And then to get all the other Badges and to go through the battles for the tournament itself will take a few weeks."

"That's too long." Ash would have laughed if he didn't feel bad himself. Pulling her over in an embrace, he nuzzled her.

"I have a plan," he said. May looked at him curiously, her eyes asking an unspoken question: What? Ash shook his head, smiling. "You'll find out soon enough, and so will the others."

"Why can't you just tell me now?" May asked, actually pouting. Mischievously, he bent to speak into her ear, grinning.

"My plan is to tell you the real one later." Crying out, she aimed to punch him in the chest. Ash, seeing the movement, blocked it, biting his lip to keep from laughing at the flare-up. Settling down, she glowered impatiently. "It'll be worth the wait, I promise."

- - -

As night fell, two forms walked up the trail, laden with packs and weapons. One of them carried a large tome, reading it out loud to the other. "So we need to look out for not only some spirit woman, but for two giant _lizards_?" he asked, incredulously.

"Or," the first of the two said, "for a real woman. These rumors and myths of a ghost haunting the forest…I wouldn't be surprised if it was just some girl running around spooking people. Or even if someone just made it up."

The second snorted. "Most likely made it up. If there truly is treasure there, though, I want in on it!"

Snorting, the first waved his hand. "Garth, I highly doubt there is a treasure trove in this damned God forsaken forest. And even if there was, someone most likely already found and stole everything."

"All legends have a grain of truth to them," Garth stated, "and not even you can deny that, Ray." The elder man frowned and nodded, still disbelieving that there was a treasure; he was, however, curious to find out if any of the other legends were true, or if it was just the wild imagination of the people of Wicker City making it all up. If they were true, he would have an opportunity to make millions…

"Never mind that," Ray said, stopping when they had stepped into the shadow of the first line of trees. "We have everything we need?"

Garth nodded, almost smiling. Taking a deep, calming breath, Ray took his first strides into the dark.

Inside the limits of the forest, things took on a gloomy, misty look. Each snap of a twig, flap of a wing, and buzz of an insect sounded almost threatening to the two brothers. Rifles out, they crept, side by side, between the trees and bushes, eyes wide and alert.

- - -

Vanika stirred, along with Silvanus, when they felt a sudden unease in their slumber. **_What is that?_** he asked, his mind link becoming colored a murky brown.

Unfurling her wings, Vanika uncurled and rose, looking about at the still-sleeping humans. **_We have visitors, I believe,_** Vanika replied grimly, her earlier misgivings coming back in her mind.

**_Let us go take care of them. I need sleep._** Silvanus was the first out of the cave, darting out into the thicket of trees, spreading his wings to take off in flight. Vanika followed close by, letting out a short, melodic yell. They had no time to waste.

- - -

Garth nudged his brother, feeling a chill as the wind started blowing, the trees swaying, whistling and groaning. "I don't like this," he said, turning pale.

Ray rolled his eyes, and turned to him. "There is nothing here. We are perfectly safe. Come on, it's night! If there is anything here, it is most likely asleep," Ray replied, frowning.

When Garth turned to continue his reluctant path, the trees around them snapped with movement, as two forms shot out, wings and claws outspread. "Bah! Nothing, you say!"

The silver one dodged to the left, and the green one to the right, circling around them menacingly. Ray turned in a circle, watching the progress one of them took, then the other. "Carefully," he ordered, softly under his breath, "aim and fire. We will most likely get only one shot off."

Garth, his eyes wide and fearful, subtly raised his rifle – making it appear as if he was just moving to point the front up and have the handle rest in his slightly cupped hand at his side – and quickly pulled the trigger as it straightened slowly. Aimed at Vanika, she dodged out of the way, doing a spiral through the air, she flattened her wings down and did a tight U-turn to return to Silvanus, who was working on getting Ray away from his younger brother.

**_Separate them._** Agreeing with the idea, Vanika veered over Garth's head, just barely striking him with her tail, and took to attacking his back, driving him farther from Ray. Silvanus, on the other hand, teased the older brother by coming closer to make an easy target then flying off, getting a little farther each time he neared. As planned, the two eventually were out of sight of each other, their individual reptiles striking and running, driving them even farther apart.

- - -

May's eyes snapped open when there was the loud bang of a gunshot. She sat upright, staring about worried, until she noticed both Silvanus and Vanika were gone. Frowning, she scrambled up, throwing her blanket off and accidentally knocking into Ash at the same time. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered hurriedly, as he stirred with a grimace.

Without glancing at Misty and Brock, she did a jump over the dying embers and took to the night, her bare feet making dull thuds against the dirt ground. May tore through the thorny bushes, ignoring the tears it caused and running on. "Vanika! Silvanus!"

She took to the denser parts of the forest, skipping between the bushes and trees and avoiding the thorny plants as much as she could once she was deeper in. There was another gunshot, then another; then, there was a loud, wailing cry of pain. "No!"

Changing to go the direction of the scream, May ran on, her sides starting to cramp and ache from the constant strain. Ignoring the pain that was starting in both her legs and her lungs, she snapped up a branch, using her momentum to keep from stopping. There was another wail, and she knew she was close.

Seeing Garth's back, May ducked behind one of the trees, leaning against it to regain her bearings and her breath. The whimpering came from the hunched up form of Vanika, who was crumpled on the ground, blood slowly spreading about her. Anger bubbling up inside of her, the young girl jumped out, striking the man in the back of the head with the branch before he could administer the killing blow.

He turned around to stare at her, paling slightly, before actually looking curious. Garth looked toward the vulnerable Vanika, then at May, before advancing on the latter. The dragon would most likely die anyway; the very much living teenager, though, was another story altogether.

May silently apologized to the whimpering reptile, hoping someone would find her before she lost too much blood, and took off again, leading the stranger of the forest away. She saw something silver out of the corner of her eye, and then another human man running after it, several tree lines away, as they darted around and between them.

There was a moment of silence except for the pounding of Garth's and her feet on the leaf covered ground, and the loud, harsh breathing. May looked over her shoulder quickly to make sure he was still in pursuit, before determinedly speeding up, bowing her head.

- - -

Ash yawned, rubbing his tired eyes as he blearily looked around. Pikachu was wide-awake, watching him, ears down. "What was the hurry?" he asked his worried Pokemon, who made a face.

"Pikachu, pika, pikachu!" Imitating the motions of using a gun, Pikachu hopped about, pointing toward the front of the cave. Ash paled considerably, and got up, grabbing the belt that had the five pokeballs attached to it and putting it on as he started out of the cave.

"Go after her, make sure everything is alright. Don't interfere though; come get me if there is something wrong." With a salute, the rodent dashed into the bushes. All he could do is wait.

- - -

Pikachu darted through the bushes' branches and thickets, the thorns and pins clawing at his fur, and sometimes pulling his ears and tail. He caught up easily, and stayed hidden among the leaves to keep from being detected by either May or whoever was invading the forest.

When he saw Vanika and Garth, Pikachu backed against a tree, waiting for the human to leave before coming out. Ears drooping, he pulled her over to lay flat, her wings spread out. There was a visible hole in one of them, which was where the blood was coming from, and several scrapes and scratches.

Using a close-by plant, he took the leaves and put them over and around the wound, closing it for the time being. Finished, Pikachu took off after May and Garth, running low to go faster and to get less damage from the plant life.

Spotting them, he hid in a strawberry plant, bending his ears back and his tail down, hankering down to watch with wary eyes.

- - -

May felt it when she lost her footing, the dirt ground turning abruptly to sand, and she slid down the incline. Garth followed shortly afterwards, actually jumping down and using the rifle to slow to decent. "Don't move!" he growled as she started to get back up to run again.

Freezing, she turned onto her back, staring up at him with wide eyes, as she heard the audible click of the loaded rifle. Under normal circumstances, she would lash out, regardless of the danger of being shot or stabbed; something, though, held her in check, leaving her in a position of weakness that could cost her both time and life.

Garth carefully took the final steps to get off the slope, keeping the barrow aimed and steady in case of any sudden movements. With the sudden turn of events, his confidence was boasted considerably. "Here I am, with the supposed ghost at my mercy. So, 'Wicker Maiden', where is your trove? Since two of the three legends are somewhat true, the third should be."

"Why does everyone think there is some wonderful treasure here? There isn't!" May said, scowling at him. Garth laughed, the sound harsh in comparison to the silence.

"Do not lie!" Springing, Garth came down direction in front of her, smacking the end of the rifle against her throat. "Tell me the truth."

"There is none!" May frowned, feeling faint, and her heart racing. She wondered if Silvanus was faring better then she was, and if Vanika was being taken care of. The thought of her adoptive mother suffering alone brought about another wave of anger, one that showed quite clearly in her eyes. "You shot my mother!"

Garth stared at her, dumbfounded. He hadn't seen, let alone shot, any women within the forest; there had only been the infuriating dragon, the green one that had constantly slapped him with its tail. Thinking back to it, he realized that the dragon in question had been female, while the one that had taken after Ray was most likely male. "That _thing_ is your mother?"

She scowled. "Yes! And you killed her!" May moved to get up, threateningly. Garth pointedly jerked the rifle, dropping her again.

- - -

Pikachu slipped through the trees, rushing off toward the cave with as much speed as he could muster with his short legs. Leaping off an outcropping, he flew out of the trees, landing in the center of the clearing and going into a roll. "Pikapi! Pika!"

Ash turned on his heel, looking at his scurrying pokemon, who jumped up to latch onto his shoulder, ears back in displeasure and tail down. "Which way?" he asked.

With a point of a paw, they were off into the forest. Pikachu had to hang on tight as Ash dodged past the trees at a swift run, pushing the lower branches away to keep from being blinded. The sound of moving water got steadily louder, the 'ffshhhhhh' of the small waterfall that fed the lake becoming more forceful.

The first thing he heard as he neared the place that Pikachu had been was "You shot my mother!" Ash had to stop, standing in shocked silence. "Mother…" he whispered, before narrowing his eyes.

Vanika; she was hurt. Making a note to search for her after taking care of the current situation, he peered around one of the trees to see what had to be done.

Seeing his chance when Garth had his back to him fully, throwing Pikachu to the side, Ash stepped around the tree and came up behind the taller man. "That _animal_ is dead, is she? Thankfully, with her out of it maybe the world will be a better place to live!" Garth roared, "And even better if I teach you a lesson!"

Raising the rifle like a club, Garth swung down. Ash ran into him, using his shoulder to ram him in the back and throw him off balance. "You will not lay a finger on her," he said as the startled man spun to stare at him.

Even May looked surprised, her eyes wide and fearful. "Ash, no!"

"Who is this? The little Maiden's guardian? Brother? Or perhaps you're her_ boyfriend_?" Garth asked, staring down at the shorter boy. Ash shrugged.

"That's none of your concern, really." Growling, Garth aimed the rifle, ready to pull the trigger. Ash smiled grimly, neither flinching or moving to get out of the line of fire.

"I believe it is, since I can't get the idiot nymph to talk, _you're_ going to do it for me," the man said. Looking first at May, then at Garth, Ash shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest and lifting his chin.

"No." Garth visibly started shaking, the rifle rattling with him. He poked the younger man in the shoulder with the object, trying to be as threatening as he could be.

"Do it boy, or you'll be deader then that dragon is!" he snarled. Ash's smile got wider, as he actually advanced on the bigger male, eyes sparkling. May let out a cry, crumpling into a heap; it appeared as if there would be more then one death…

"Go ahead; pull the trigger. I know you won't, you're too scared to. That'd be a murder on your head if you did," Ash replied. Garth jerked the rifle to the side, letting off a round just to the left of the smirking boy's head. The bold move silenced the teasing; Ash's jaw tightened, his eyes widening.

"Nice try, kid, but it won't work. Now, get to work-" Before he could even finish, something silver shot out, striking him in the back of the head and flying on, doing a turn to come back and try again. "Again with the dragons!"

Garth waved the rifle, using his free arm to shield his head from the onslaught. **_Get out of my forest!_** Silvanus raked his claws across the man's face, tail whipping about and wings beating.

Screaming out in pain, Garth took a swing at the attacking creature, missing entirely. **_Get out, lest I have to do more damage to you, human!_** Getting his wits about him, Garth took to the trees, leaving them behind at the lake's edge.


	8. Chapter Seven: A Close Call

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Yes, I am giving you the next chapter:D No waiting to find out what happens after that cliff hanger, haha. Even though I could be evil and withhold this a while..naaaaah. 8D So here we are. I actually quite like how it went, except the ending of the chapter is rather iffy. o.0 I might come back and rework it a bit.

Warning: No those adult scenes aren't in this chapter either. Go forward a few more chapters and it'll be in there, when I get that chapter up. Ha.

- Chapter Seven: A Close Call -

Waiting until he couldn't hear the running footsteps, Ash quickly kneeled down on the ground, getting the trembling girl in a hug. **_Are either of you harmed?_** Silvanus landed next to them, curling his wings against his back and sitting on his hunches.

"Vanika, where is Vanika?" May asked, leaning toward him, her voice shaking. Silvanus tilted his head. **_I do not know. I haven't seen her._** Growing more hysterical by the minute, May grabbed the confused dragon. "You have to find her! She's hurt, she's probably…"

Breaking down, she started crying, bent over and hiding her face in her hands. Silvanus backed up several paces, folding and unfolding his wings edgily and uncomfortably. "Go," Ash said, "find her."

Without comment, Silvanus took to the air once again, disappearing into the upper branches of the trees. With nothing to say that would be of any help, Ash sat in grim silence, rocking the teary, wailing girl. Even Pikachu didn't make a sound, not sure if it would be best to stay, or to leave.

"Vanika…" May whimpered, shuddering, "Vanika…mommy…I want my mommy back…"

"She'll be fine." Sniffling, the brunette stared at Ash, her green eyes clouded and bloodshot, disbelieving. She shook her head.

"No, no, he shot her, he shot her. She's _dead_…" May said, a new wave of tears falling. Ash, strained, forced a reassuring smile, squeezing her.

"Vanika's alive, and she'll be okay," he repeated, "Have I ever lied to you?" May shook her head, rubbing her runny nose with her sleeve, and curled up into a ball, shivering again. Ash looked back toward the forest.

He certainly hoped it wouldn't have to be that First Lie.

- - -

His wings beating against his back as he flew, Silvanus streaked between the trees and branches, his head down to guard his eyes from the onslaught. He listened closely for some sign of the other dragon; a whimper, a yell or call, something to warn him of her presence. **_Vanika! Vanika!_**

Soaring higher, Silvanus scanned the forest below, his eyes darting from here to there. As he passed by one of the smaller clearings, he felt a weak mental tug; it was barely noticeable, like someone whispering from across a room. Going into a nosedive, he rushed past the leafy treetops and landed. Scurrying, he crossed the clear ground, coming upon the fallen Vanika.

The leaves Pikachu had placed over the wound were soggy from blood, the ground around her stained and glistening. Silvanus looked around for some form of help, his eyes falling on nothing but empty air. Seeing no other options, he nudged his nose under her, working until she was hanging on his back loosely.

Rather then risk flying, Silvanus took to a quick trot, using his wings as a sort of belt to hold Vanika on as he crossed the uneven terrain. There was no time to waste in getting back to the cave, if he was to keep her alive for long. **_Do not die!_**

- - -

Misty awoke with a start, her eyes wide and unfocused as her mind tried to comprehend the yells and screeching. She crawled out of her sleeping bag, and got up to stretch out. "Brock, wake up!" she said, kicking the man in the side gently.

He mumbled under his breath, rolling over and putting his head under the pillow. The redhead watched him, not at all amused, and kicked him again, harder. "Up!" Misty repeated, as she walked out.

She froze at the entrance, her heart caught in her throat at the sight. Silvanus was sprawled out on the ground, Vanika's bloody form next to him, panting heavily. **_Take care of her, _**he ordered, his own Mind link weakening as exhaustion started to take over.

"What happened? Where are-" she started as Brock groggily appeared next to her, looking unhappy with being awaken so early. Silvanus cracked an eye open. **_Vanika, hurt. Ash, May, lake, neither hurt._**

The eye shut again, and the Link closed down. Misty pointed to the dragon pair, going at a run toward the direction of the lake. "Get them inside and get ointment or something on her if you could, please."

When Brock nodded his consent, she wound her way around the first trees, disappearing from his view. Misty wondered what had actually happened to cause both of the reptiles to be in such states – one too tired to even lift his head, the other on the brink of death.

Coming out on the sandy, rock shore, Misty looked around the lightless beach. "Ash? May?" she called out, walking along the sloping lake, keeping away from the small tide.

At the first sound of footsteps, she turned around to glance at Ash, who was coming up behind her, carrying the young girl that was May. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, his unease obvious even to Misty.

"I came to find you two. What happened?" Ash shook his head.

"Walk and talk; we need to get back to the cave. I'm not sure myself, actually…" Ash admitted, "Just that, there was a man that showed up, quite a nasty one, threatening to kill May then me when I wouldn't get her to tell him something…whatever it was. When Silvanus scared him off, May said something about Vanika being hurt or dead and has been crying nonstop ever since."

Misty stared at him, alarmed. "Why didn't either of you wake me and Brock up?" she yelled, ignoring when Ash winced.

"I don't exactly think either of us thought much about waiting around for everyone else. The only reason I was up was because she accidentally fell on me or something in her hurry to get up and out after Silvanus and Vanika," he replied, "so when Pikachu came back saying to go to the lake, I just went, no questions asked." Misty sighed, exasperated.

"And if something had happened to either of you, no one would have been up to do anything about it," she said, her shoulders drooping, but dropped the subject afterwards; there was no point in dwelling on the smaller details. When they came up to the cave, Ash left Misty to attend to Silvanus, vanishing into the dark hole that was the cave.

"I think there is very little I can actually do." Brock looked up at Misty, as he gently pulled Vanika's wing out to its full span. "I can maybe patch it up and keep putting ointment on the wound to help it heal, but other then that, she's on her own. Though, with the amount of blood she has most likely lost…"

"We just have to hope she pulls through," Misty said grimly, as Ash returned alone. They didn't even acknowledge his presence, watching the slow, shallow breathing creature that was at that very moment in an almost coma-like state.

"Would it be better if we took them inside?" the younger boy asked. The breeder nodded, taking the injured female gently in his arms to carry her inside. Misty did the same with Silvanus, getting help from Ash with the awkward weight.

As they set them down to bed for the night, Brock pulled the dark-haired teenager to the side. "Listen," he said, keeping his voice low, "I think maybe it would be best, that if something does happen to…to Vanika, that maybe the trip for the tournament be put on hold until next year."

Ash turned his head away, closing his eyes at the solemn thought. The aftereffect of the dragon's death would surely be less then pleasant on all fronts; and just the thought of such a kind creature perishing because of one man's greed brought a bitter taste to the mouth. "Yes, I would say so…let's hope that doesn't become the case, though."

- - -

The next few days went by slowly, in a near silence that not even Silvanus dared to break unless he really needed to. In the cave, Vanika continued to heal, her breathing only slightly more natural then the night of the raid, and her wing healing slowly, the blood flow stopped.

For most of the time, May sat idly, barely moving, staring ahead with glassy eyes that were unfocused and unresponsive. The rest of the time was spent doing the necessities of life, though the same moody, glum feeling remained.

"Ash, I don't like this," Misty said softly on the fourth afternoon. She kept her head down, not daring to even look around. "First Vanika, then May now too. Can't you do anything?"

He shook his head ruefully. Ash had actually tried everything he could think of, and all of them had appeared to fail. "I can't. I think…I think we are just going to have to wait this out," he replied.

They fell into the tense silence again, neither of them feeling any amount of cheerfulness; it seemed like there wouldn't be any to feel for awhile. "I'm going for a walk."

Giving both girls a lingering look, Ash stood and stepped over the growth that was part of the barrier of the clearing. The air was warm, smelling faintly of wood and flowers, in the inner workings of the forest. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he slowly and quietly wove around the trees, staring down at the ground.

Even the forest itself seemed to be grieving in its own way, as the atmosphere was not the same as the normal, peaceful one it normally had. At that moment, it felt more constricted and compacted, as if someone had taken the whole of the forest and dropped it into a box and shut the lid. Never before had it felt so, and it bothered Ash more then a little.

Feeling something hard under his shoe, Ash bent down to pick up the hardcover book that had been lying on the ground. Brushing the dirt and grime off of it, he looked at the ripped cover. It had no title on it, and looked like one of the blank books one could buy in a stationary shop or a bookstore.

Finding a place to sit at the base of one of the trees, Ash opened it to the first word-filled page, and scanned through it. At first it looked like just a history of Wicker City, until it started talking about the forest, and how it had received the name Wicker Maiden Forest five years prior to that moment.

It went on in great detail of many men and women returning from trips into the forest severely beaten up, with stories of two vicious reptilian creatures and a girl that had attacked them from no where. Most of them involved looking for a Treasure that was rumored to reside within the forest walls, something of great value and worth. Some of them listed the girl as being 'a spirit,' 'ghost,' 'wood nymph,' or 'elf,' among other such terms and names.

Ash's eyes widened, everything in the book coming together; the 'two vicious reptilian creatures' were no doubt Vanika and Silvanus, and the spirit girl was most likely May. "Weren't those guys that we saw here when we first came here looking for treasure?" he asked out loud to the trees.

He wondered what started the stories of there being such valuables in the forest, and whether they held any truth at all. Ash shook his head, shutting the book with a quiet snap, and setting it aside. Leaning his head back, he shut his eyes to block out all of the surrounding scenery; regardless of whether or not there was something people would want inside the sanctuary, they had no right to enter with the intent of taking it.

The snap of twigs alerted him to someone or something approaching him. Ash looked over, opening his brown eyes slightly, widening them to saucers at seeing May being the one that was about. She took a seat next to him on the mossy ground, not speaking a word in greeting.

May turned her head to glance at him, alert for the first time in four days. It became apparent what she wanted, and Ash moved to let her get closer, pulling her onto his lap. Holding onto each other, it almost seemed serene, the stress and ice of the last days just starting to melt away.

"Do you love me?" The question startled Ash, for the sheer fact of how out of place it sounded. May looked at him expectantly, the green eyes that had been so lifeless lately bright again. He didn't know quite what to say; it most likely wouldn't be a good idea to try to dodge the question, but it could also prove fatal trying to answer.

"I'm…" Before he had to come up with a good reply, a weak, shaky voice spoke up, one that was all-too welcome and they both were happy to hear: Vanika's. **_Don't… stall… tell… truth. You'll… be… happier._**

There were no other statements from her, her Link once again broken off. They sat in silence, neither wanting to say anything, until Ash finally spoke up. "I…I think I do, but…" He paused, weighing over what he wanted to say. "…what about you?"

It was May's turn to hesitate, the situation still hanging heavily over her, and the importance of her answer becoming obvious in her mind. "I'm, I'm going to have to say I'm the same. I'm not quite sure, I don't know what that feels like really," she admitted, her cheeks turning red.

"Maybe there is no set way it feels…like, it's different for different people," Ash said, wondering himself how it worked. It was one of the times he wished he could ask someone for help; he knew, though, he was on his own in figuring out what to do and say.

"What do people do when…when they love each other?" she asked, earning a smile from the young man. He shrugged though.

"Oh, lots of things…."


	9. Chapter Eight: Nara Tournament

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Before anyone ever bothers reading this chapter, I'll tell you right now. I honestly, could care less if the Pokemon team I have Ash use is the canon one or not. I picked pokemon out of the Kanto series and Johto series (part of it?) to make his team for DG, as I see Nara as being mostly a combination of the two Pokemon-wise, rather then having a new set of 100. XD So, yes, don't pick on me for it. ;o I'm lazy. And I haven't watch much of Johto and only three episodes of Hoenn so far, so leave me alone. XD

I do introduce a new character in this chapter though. She probably won't get much spotlight after the whole tournament part of this story ends, but she does get mentioned and gets brought up later on.

Warning: No those adult scenes aren't in this chapter either. Go forward a few more chapters and it'll be in there, when I get that chapter up. Ha.

- Chapter Eight: Nara Tournament -

In short time, Vanika was up and back to normal, with the exception of her lame wing that was strapped against her back. The tournament was also growing closer, and the days left grew smaller. It became apparent that for Ash to have any chance of getting the remaining badges and competing, he had to start within a day or two.

Their stuff packed and supplies gotten, they were ready to go. "Wait," Ash said, earning a disapproving look from Misty, "I need to do something real quick."

He pulled May away from the others, going just far enough away that they were both out of eye and earshot. She looked at him in confusion, especially when he started digging in his jacket pocket. "I want you to have this," Ash said, pulling out a small box.

May took it, and cracked the casing with a nail. Inside was a small ring, the gemstone a translucent green, and the band silver. "What is this?" she asked, staring at the glittering thing.

"It's called a Promise Ring." Ash took hold of her from behind, and pulled the ring out from its cushion. Shakily, he slipped it onto her left hand, adjusting it so that it was righted. "It's just like a way to promise yourself to someone."

Moving her hand so the stone would catch the light in just the right way, May smiled. Turning to hug him, she felt the all-to-familiar stinging that meant she was about to start crying.

"Oh, no, no, don't." Ash said, creeping down until they both were kneeling on the ground, "Don't cry." May screwed up her eyes and nose, trying to keep the tears from falling again; she had already cried too much.

"It's going to take too long." She shook her head, biting her lip. "I don't want you to go! I'll never be able to talk to you or anything if you do!"

Ash smiled then, and pulled his backpack off. Getting the pokedex out, he opened it and showed it to her. "Right there, see that? It can double as a phone. All you have to do is _call_."

May frowned. "I don't have a phone."

"Vanika or Silvanus can work on that easily." Putting the electronic away, Ash turned back to her.

"But..." **_Hurry._** Vanika's voice floated distantly in their minds, urging them to realize how urgent it was that they finished. Ash grabbed hold of her shoulders.

"Don't worry. It'll only be a few weeks, then I'll be back. Just worry about getting Vanika better, alright?" May nodded, standing with him.

"Make sure you win." Ash gave her an impish smile.

"Like I could do anything else!" She couldn't help but laugh. Seeing the opening, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her over, ignoring her startled – but delighted – yelps. "When you get that phone, you're going to call, right?"

"Yes, if Silvanus gets one," May said. His smile widened.

"_Good._" Actually hearing one of his companions stomping through the undergrowth, Ash quickly swung around so that he was facing the opposite direction that they were coming from. Hesitating for only a moment, he bent down and planted a kiss on May's lips, once again surprising the young girl.

"Ash! We need to go!" a bossy voice called from somewhere outside of their view, the footsteps getting closer. Pulling away, turning bright red in embarrassment, Ash put his hands up, looking apologetically at her.

"I'm sorry, I need to go before Misty or Brock bust a vein." May, blushing just as much as him, nodded and waved him off.

"Go, go, do what you need to do." With a final smile and hug, he disappeared off into the trees.

- - -

**_What _are_ you doing?_** Silvanus asked. He was nowhere to be seen, hidden somewhere that the people of the city couldn't see or notice him, but could badger his young charge anyway. May scowled, ignoring his impatient question as she looked around the store, looking at all of the television sets that they sold.

"How might I be of some service to you?" One of the saleswomen walked up to her, wearing a slight smile and her hands folded across her thighs. May turned to look at her.

"Do you have any that run off of those battery things?" she asked, once again pointedly ignoring the **_Meh, what use are those?_** comments that the silver dragon continued to repeat, along with the **_Why do you bother?_** ones.

"Well, yes we do. The small walk-able TVs take batteries, but wouldn't you much rather a bigger one? The battery-powered ones tend to be small, depending on the battery size," the woman said. May shook her head.

"Where are the battery powered ones?" With a sigh, she led May through the store, to the corner that held several handhold ones, along with some bigger sets.

"This one here takes two of the larger batteries, but it's better for if you want it in a car then the hand held." May smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, that's all I needed," she said, and the woman walked away, muttering under her breath. "Silvanus, I want this one. The one that she was talking about. I need the batteries for it too," she said, as the creature appeared under one of the tables.

Ten years, and May still hadn't figured out how Silvanus and Vanika managed to appear and reappear like that. **_Go_**, he said, **_I'll take care of it._**

"Thank you," May repeated, and stepped out of the store. Walking down the street, she pulled out the small phone that her adoptive 'father' had 'bought' – though, in all reality, he had stole it – and ran a thumb over its smooth top.

Flipping it open, she looked at the buttons curiously, touching each one with the gentleness one would show to spun glass. **_I bought your 'television' and your batteries. Now what, Oh Mighty Princess, do you need? Where do we go?_**

May smiled, turning toward one of the alleyways to see the pair of green eyes staring out at her. "Back home," she said as if to herself, and turned back in the direction that the street would lead out of the city, and toward the forest.

- - -

"Only a few more days and the tournament will start!" Putting her glass down with a clink, Misty beamed at her two male companions, one of which met her happy look, and the other just shrugged. "Why aren't you more excited?"

"Because I just want to get this over with and head back to Wicker City," Ash replied, holding his head up on his palm. He had never told either of them about what had occurred out in the forest before they left, nor about the ring he had bought.

"Is the Pokemon Master-to-be lovesick?" Brock asked teasingly, getting a scowl from the younger man. Ash threw the spoon from his soup at him, not at all amused. "Come on, if you win this, you'll have something to brag about when we do get back there."

"It isn't that big of an achievement though." Ash looked at them, his eyes narrowed, and shook his head. "And it isn't like they would care about it anyway."

"No, no, I think they would." Both Misty and Ash looked at each other strangely, then at Brock. It was his turn to shrug. "From what I saw… it looked like May would have been happy as long as you tried, even if you came back saying 'I lost horribly. Too bad, huh? Oh well.' Vanika would agree with what she thought, and Silvanus… well, you can never tell with him."

"Even though, wouldn't it be better to have that little title to show off? It would certainly be an ego boaster," Misty added, albeit reluctantly. Ash smiled then, and nodded.

- - -

"Today we will be seeing the most spectacular of Pokemon Trainers competing one on one to claim the ultimate rank and title of Pokemon Master. There will be winners and losers in these heated battles, and only one can come out the true victor!" Silvanus rolled his eyes, his back to the small television set.

May and Vanika, on the other hand, watched the screen with rapt attention. It was the last day of the Pokemon League Tournament, and for the past week the television had been tuned to the battles as different trainers rose in the ranks of the tournament and fell from a bad move or order.

Silvanus shook his head, amazed at how fascinated the two females were of the human competition, when he himself couldn't see what was interesting about it. "The first battle with be between two young trainers from Johto…"

For most of the day the set was on, screeching out the commentary on what was occurring in the battle. As May started working on reading her book of fairy tales, an announcement on the TV caught her attention; she raised her head to look at it. "We are up to the final battle, folks. This will be the deciding battle of who will be the winner of this tournament."

Her eyes widened. "He made it!"

**_What?_** Vanika blinked at her. May grinned, putting her book to the side and scooting forward to watch the television. "Ash, he made it to the final round! One more battle and he's done!" she said, as the announcer gave details and stats on the opposing sides. **_Don't get ahead of yourself. It hasn't started yet, and no one has won._**

"So?" May turned away from the green dragon, focusing on the starting battle, her eyes wide and alert. Vanika smiled, taking a seat next to her. She wondered who would prove the better in it herself.

- - -

Ash stared across the field, at the girl he was facing. She looked to be a few years older then him, and her entire stance and posture showed her overconfidence. "You ready to be beat?" she asked tauntingly, grinning mischievously at him.

"Oh no, I'm not," Ash said, enlarging one of the poke balls and waiting for the signal that the battle was to start, "because I can't lose this one."

"Oh ho ho, can't you say? And why is that?" she asked snidely. When the light above the scoreboard turned green, a cheer went up. It was time to start the match.

"Because, after this I need to have something good to tell my 'family,'" he replied, throwing the poke ball out. She did the same, and the battle was on.

- - -

May 'ooohhhh'ed as the combating pokemon lashed out at each other, neither of them relenting as they dished out attacks. "No, no, Pikachu!" she yelled, when the television set showed the yellow mouse pokemon being flung across the field, the Hyper Beam used by the laughing woman's Dragonair creating enough energy to send a larger pokemon through a wall.

She bounced on her heels, her eyes wide as the battle continued, with both Dragonair and Pikachu getting beat as time went on. As the snake-like one fell into a heap, the set blasted with the sound of the audience at the stadium yelling and cheering, and the announcement that 'Side Red' had two of three pokemon left.

There was a moment as there was almost no sound, the crowds calmed down as the scowling woman pulled another poke ball out and unleashed her next pokemon, one from the Johto region – Espeon. "That must be another one."

**_There are many of those Pokemon creatures. Hundreds._** Silvanus said, matter-of-factly. Vanika swatted him with her tail, not turning away from the television – she didn't want to miss a thing that happened.

- - -

"Pikachu!" Ash leaned forward over the railing, as his Starter made a long, low cry and crumpled to the floor, going still. The referee stepped out onto the field, taking the fainted Pokemon to the sidelines to rest.

"Pikachu has fainted! Side Red and Blue are tied one for one!" the speakers boomed, as Ash called out another pokemon – Bayleef. His opponent's eyes widened. He grinned.

"You're not the only one that's been in that area!" Ash said, "Bayleef, use Razor Leaf!"

Espeon dodged out of the way of the attack, and countered it. The two animal-like pokemon ran at each other, tackling and letting off their own special attacks. "Baaay!"

"Not too bad, kid!" the woman, smiling, called over the roar of the crowds and of the fighting pair. Ash could only nod to her. Just then, there was a crack, and Bayleef sent Espeon sliding across the ground.

"Two to one, in favor of Blue!" As the psychic pokemon was returned to its poke ball, she spat bitterly, and let her last one out – a Beedrill. "Side Red has used a Beedrill!"

"Never let yourself become overconfident, though!" she commented, "My love, use Poison Sting."

"I don't think I'm the one that should worry about that," Ash breathed, barely able to hear the words himself. "Bayleef, Solarbeam!"

Beedrill flew up, pointing its stingers at the grounded Bayleef and shot several poisonous darts out at the darting pokemon. When there was an opening, the grass-type powered up for the attack, letting loose the bright beam of light. There was a moment of total chaos, as the field was so lit up that neither pokemon could be seen. "Bay, leeef!"

When everything appeared again, everyone froze, waiting to see the results. Beedrill floated in midair, unmoving, until it dropped from the air like a bug that had been swatted. "Three to one, Blue! Side Blue has won the match!"

- - -

**_I'm never going to hear the end of this._** Silvanus put his claws over his head, as May jumped up, dancing with Vanika. "He won he won he won he won!"

Looking back at the television set, they went quiet as the announcer appeared on the screen. "There you have it, folks. This year's Pokemon League Tournament has came to an end. In a few minutes we will be working on getting an interview with our new champion and Pokemon Master, _Ashura Ketchum_!"

Vanika stilled, watching as the announcer went on in great detail about what usually occurred after the tournament, what the Pokemon Master usually had to do, and the schedule for the ending celebrations. "Doesn't that mean…" May said, sitting back and staring at the screen, "Doesn't that mean it'll take even longer?"

**_Yes, it would seem so._** Even Silvanus wasn't pleased with the sudden news, and they sat in silence as the television continued to rattle on. Abruptly, May stood and drifted off, leaving her guardians behind at the clearing.

She felt sick at the thought of what had been said. It would most likely add several weeks onto the already too-long separation, if not add on months. May wiped a hand across her eyes, blinking away the tears that sprang up, and took a deep breath.

"'It'll only be a few weeks…'" she said softly, repeating the words that had been said. May wondered if it would still hold true, or whether the tournament would hold rein for longer then any of them had expected. "I guess I'll find out soon or something…"

- - -

Ash returned his pokemon quickly, the referee giving him the stirring Pikachu as he ducked off of the field hurriedly. Taking the quick way around to the locker room, he grabbed his bag off of one of the benches and retrieved his remaining two poke balls out of the small locker that he was given to use.

The few trainers in the room smiled and congratulated him on the won battle and the new title, some of them coming up to try to talk. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't," Ash said, pushing past and exiting.

Misty and Brock met him outside the door. "That was great! This is going to be fun, there is supposed to be a ball tonight even-" the redhead excitedly cried, mentally planning what to wear.

"Well, you can go without me." Ash ignored the shocked looks they gave him, neither caring nor wanting the lecture he was about to get. He readjusted his backpack so that it didn't bounce around as he walked, letting his exhausted electric-type rest in it. Brock grabbed hold of his shoulder and spun him around to face them.

"What do you mean 'you can go without me'?" they demanded. Ash folded his arms across his chest, his mouth set in a line.

"It means exactly what I said. You can go without me. I'm not going." Turning back around, he went down a side corridor, seeing the onslaught that would occur if they kept down the main one. "There isn't much to figure out, really."

"And why aren't you going?" Misty asked, "They hold it to celebrate the conclusion of the Tournament! You're the _Pokemon Master_! You'd be the main guest there, they have no reason to if-"

"Too bad, they can find someone else to be the main guest," he said, purposely not answering the first question. Ash pushed the door that led out open, and peered out warily. Just as he was about to swing it open to leave, it was slammed shut from the girl behind him.

"Not so fast! Why aren't you going?" she repeated. Ash pushed her hand out of the way, opening the door and slipping out. Before shutting it, he looked back in, frowning.

"I don't want to." With a snap, he closed the door, leaving his two best friends to wonder what exactly had just happened.

Outside was not as calm as it had appeared. Ash froze when he had been about to round a corner, wanting nothing more then to return to the hotel – fate had other plans for him.

The crowds of people that was swarming the area was almost overwhelming. He edged back, hoping that none of them had noticed his presence, but that wasn't his luck. "Oh, hello, I'm from-"

Looking around at everyone that suddenly surrounded him, Ash couldn't have felt any worse then he did at that moment. "Let me through!" he yelled over the chattering, trying to get past the first line of clamoring people.

"Please wait, we have questions-" Ash looked at the man that spoke sharply.

"And I have someplace to be. Now do me a favor, _get out of my way_ and leave me alone." Several of them went quiet, hearing the statement clearly.

The barrage of questions started again: "Someplace to be? Where is that?" "Why are you in such a hurry?" "Are you going to be attending the ball tonight?" Ash felt like tearing something apart at that moment; he knew he was turning red.

"That is my, and only my, concern." he replied, "No, I will not be attending. Now _move_."

"Clear away, clear away! You'll all get your chance soon enough!" Ash stared in amazement as the crowd parted to let a middle-aged woman in, as she waved her hands. "You don't all need to gang up on the kid!"

There was a unified moan, as they were forced to dissipate and leave the area by the local police. Ash turned to his new savior. "Um, thanks I think."

She smiled. "It's the least I could do for my successor. Not used to this type of attention, are you?" she asked.

Ash shook his head, smiling faintly. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, leading him over to the main building. "I don't like it. All I want is to go get my stuff and head back to…"

He broke off, hesitant about whether it was safe to be telling the ex-Pokemon Master about the situation, especially in such a public place. Seeing his sudden embarrassment, she grinned. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Gwen."

"I'd say hello, if it wasn't a little late for it." Ash said, "I'm Ash, even though you already know that probably."

"Yes, yes…how would you like a drink? I know you're underage for Nara…but a glass or two couldn't hurt," Gwen asked, getting a nod in response, "We can go to my office."

- - -

The office itself was small, furnished with a desk, chairs, a small couch, and a wood cabinet. Gwen indicated one of the seats as she passed, and opened the cabinet up to look inside. "Have any requests?" she asked.

Ash sat down, shaking his head. Pulling out a bottle of whiskey, she took two glasses out and set them in the center of the desk. Taking her own seat behind it, she popped the cork and poured the liquid out. "Now, if you don't mind me asking…why exactly are you so set in not going?"

He blinked, his hand inches from one of the tall glasses. It took him a moment to realize she was talking about the party that would be later, and he frowned. "I have someplace I need to start heading to as soon as possible," Ash admitted, "so I rather not stick around for that."

Gwen watched him over her own glass, raising an eyebrow. "Someplace to go? So soon?" She smiled. "Who's waiting for you?"

Blushing, Ash stared at her. "What?" he asked, "What are you talking about?"

The woman leaned back in her high-backed chair, crossing her legs under the desk. "Drink up." she said, "I'm talking about you wanting out of this town before you've even gone through the normal rituals for a new Pokemon Master. There has to be a reason other then shyness, so I'm guessing by the fact you keep evading answering the where's and why's that this has to do with someone else."

Nearly spitting out the drink, Ash had to hold his breath to keep from coughing. He couldn't believe it; everyone was making a fuss over his refusal to go to a dance. Swallowing, he shrugged. "I just want out is all."

With an amused glance, she smirked. "Indeed so. Whatever the reason though, it couldn't hurt to at least go to the ball. You surely couldn't leave tonight anyway."

Ash tilted his head slightly, looking at Gwen strangely; she reminded him strongly of Vanika, if the dragon would have been human. "Why not?" he asked.

"Well, for one, this town is filled to brimming with people that would give a limb to just _see_ you, my boy, let alone actually get a chance to meet you. If you wait a few days for this to die down, you'd have an easier time whisking away to wherever you wished to get to." Ash's eyes widened, the weight of what the battle had done finally fully falling on him.

Downing the rest of his glass in one gulp, he shivered, amazed that within an hour his life had taken such a drastic turn. If the thought of having to stay put was enough to make him feel ill, the thought of having to stay put because of the hordes of people made him really ill. "I can't though."

She rose an eyebrow again. "Why is that?" she asked.

Shaking his head, Ash hugged himself, rocking back and forth in his seat to ease the nervousness. "I promised..." he said, "I promised!"

Gwen wondered if perhaps she should have opted for the wine instead of such strong liquor; the young man obviously didn't have _any_ tolerance for it, and the beginning of the hysterics proved it. Quickly clearing the glasses away, she went around the desk and kneeled in front of his seat, taking his hands in her own. "Ash, slow down, calm down."

He laughed bitterly. "I'm screwed! Screwed! I promised to her, Iactually _promised!_"

The situation was getting stranger by the moment. "What did you promise? To who?" Gwen insisted, reaching a hand up to turn on her intercom to call a doctor, then deciding against it.

Ash rubbed his eyes, making a sound that was unmistakably a sniffle. "I promised, I promised that I would come back immediately after the tournament, but now I have to wait for a bunch of people to ask a bunch of dumb questions and to do god knows what. It could take forever!"

"Now, now, be calm." Gwen stood and circled around, and carefully started to message his tense shoulders. "Cry your heart out if you like. None of this will leave this office."

"I miss them," he said, closing his eyes and leaning back. Gwen nodded, staying the listener instead of the talker; she had a feeling it had been a while since the teenager had been able to just _talk_, without someone judging or talking back to him. "even Silvanus, though he can be mean."

Gwen wondered who Silvanus was. As she was about to ask, Ash started talking again. "I _really_ miss May though. She's too nice. She's really pretty. I really like her eyes. They're green you know?" He paused, thinking over what to say next. "Oh, she has this new dress too. She looks good with it on…not that she doesn't with something else on or nothing on, but I just like the dress too."

Her eyes widened. "_Nothing?_" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. I was taking a bath once, and I guess she decided to wanted to take one with me, so she just showed up at the lake, already striped and everything. I was _going_ to tell her to go back to the camp, that it isn't right, but she thought it was because of Vanika and Silvanus and she's just so nice and innocent and stuff, so I thought that there couldn't be any harm in it. Not like we were 'doing' anything."

She wondered if he was talking about the person that she had been referring to earlier in the conversation. Ash actually smiled, turning to look at her. "Misty got real upset though. She thinks I'm nuts or something."

"Well…."

Ash twisted in his seat, sitting on his knees then, and grinned. "I even bought her a Promise Ring. I'm serious. I'm really serious. I'm really, really, really, really, serious."

Gwen looked at her watch, checking to see how much time they had, before smiling at him. "That is good to hear. You'll get there; you just have to be patient. Have you changed your mind about tonight at all?"

"Yes, yes…I think I'll go after all," he said. Gwen nodded, putting a hand out to help him up.

"Come on then, you need to get some rest before getting ready. We don't want our Pokemon Master walking in tipsy, do we now?" Gwen teased, getting a short laugh out of him. Ash shook his head, standing from his seat. "I have a couch in here you can lay down on for awhile."

Leading him over to the small red couch, she pulled the blanket that was folded next to it out, shaking it out. "Thank you, Gwen," Ash mumbled, plopping down on the thing and pulling his legs up.

"It's alright. Just get some sleep, and I'll wake you up when it's time," she said, putting the blanket over him. Closing the shades on her windows, she checked the locks before leaving, giving her successor some quiet time. The night certainly wouldn't give it.


	10. Chapter Nine: Troubles in Transia

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: I don't care much for this chapter, because I had to rewrite the whole ball. The first time I did it, the computer deleted it or something because when I went back to look, the beginning all the way to the beginning of the phone call was cut out, and I know I didn't take it out because the call made no sense without it. XD So yes. I am happy with how it went the second time around, but just the extra work pissed me off. Evil computer.

As for the ball (I don't suggest reading on in these notes until you finish), I know that Ash should be able to take stress better then that. Ever hear the saying 'Don't bite off more then you can chew'? That's what I think of when it comes to what happens. Too much is happening, it is getting to him, he gets sick – both literally and nonliterally. Though, when I wrote the scene, I hadn't considered that saying. It is just now I'm thinking of it.

As for the beginning, that actually is jabbing fun at myself. "You just like having someone to play dolls with" kinda refers to how A) I make dolls (usually of Ash, either original character or of Pokemon's), and B) Love screwing with Ash's looks and personality. XD He's such a fun character to play around with to see how he turns out. Plus the scene does remind me of a little girl dressing up a barbie doll. XD or something like that.

Warning: Ok you pervs (kidding), go elsewhere to read a sex scene. ;p It isn't in this chapter either. You'll have to wait a little while longer to read my (badly) wrote one...or two. Or three. Four, five, six... XD Nah, not that many. Only two or so.

- Chapter Nine: Troubles in Transia -

"Oh, you look stunning!" Ash stared at Gwen when she clapped her hands together, beaming at him. "You clean up so nicely!"

"You just like having someone to play dolls with," he remarked, poking fun at her enjoyment of finding an outfit for him.

"I can't deny it. It _is_ fun dressing you up, like having my very own model. I'd make some more changes if we had time, but we have to get going. Your fans await!" She wasn't lying; it was nearing the beginning of the Transia Ball, and they needed to get to the hall before the beginning speech.

After being whisked into the car, Ash looked out of the window quietly, thinking over what he had to do. He knew it'd be a long, hard night that he'd be forced to tolerate.

- - -

"Without further ado, we introduce to you, Nara League's newest and youngest Pokemon Master in 50 years, Ash Ketchum!" The applause that filled the room was overwhelming, as shouts from all sides attacked his hearing. Putting his hands up and shaking his head when the laughing man went to hand him to microphone, Ash refused the offer; he didn't feel like talking to the whole room, not when he felt like there was a group of Butterfrees making their home in his stomach.

Forcing a smile when Brock, then Gwen, prodded him to walk around and talk to some of the guests, Ash took to the crowd, keeping his head down to keep from drawing more attention then he already had. "Oh, Mr. Ketchum!"

Ash paled when he heard the giggles that followed the greeting. Slowly, he turned to regard the offending girls warily. The ensuing 'Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!' they made ground on his already shot nerves; having so many people trying to talk to him wasn't at all thrilling. "Yes?" he asked, replacing the smile that didn't want to linger for too long.

"I...well...I wanted to ask..." The gaggle of girls whispered encouraging words to the one speaking, all of them giggling. Ash wondered just how old they were...and how old they were trying to act. _They look like they're 14 or something._ "Would you dance with me? Please?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't dance," he replied, having to look away to keep from seeing the crestfallen expression the girl had. As he moved to walk away, she grabbed hold of his sleeve.

"You can't just this once? I'm your biggest fan!" _No, you're not. The only one that can have that title is May,_ Ash thought, getting a sick feeling when the image of the forest surfaced in his mind; his stomach churned painfully. "Please?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. I won't." Pulling his arm away from the pleading girl, Ash edged away from them, going into a run when he was free of the majority of people. He ignored the yells from Misty, the ones from Gwen, and shoved past the loitering people.

Letting the door swing shut behind him, Ash leaned forward, his hands on the sink, and stared into the mirror. He felt a sudden jolt run through him, and he bent over, the contents of dinner returning to haunt him; he knew it had been a good idea to make a run for it.

As he continued to gag, feeling lightheaded as he couldn't breath, Ash felt someone pat him on the back gently. A glance in the mirror revealed it was his long time male Gym Leader friend. "The girls wondered what was wrong when you didn't say anything to them," Brock said, letting up when Ash pushed himself straighter, breathing heavily once he had finished vomiting.

"This isn't what I wanted," Ash croaked, his voice sounding rough from the abuse it had taken, "I didn't want to have all these things to do." He shook his head. "My dream...I have it, but I don't want it if I have to do all of this."

He made a face. "Balls, interviews, meetings, running and hiding from crazy people...Brock, I didn't sign up for that!" Ash whined pitifully, "I just want to go back to the forest. Is that really too much to ask for?"

Brock shook his head. "No, usually not. But you have a responsibility to take care of now, and that has to come first...lovesick or not." He didn't know if Ash's expression could be any more heartbroken then it already was.

"It isn't fair," he said quietly, wiping his eyes on his sleeve as he left the bathroom. Ash saw both Gwen and Misty waiting patiently nearby, and waved them over. "Can I go now? I came, I saw, I talked, I want to go lay down."

Smiling sadly, Gwen gave him a short, soft hug. "Go on ahead. I'll cover for you if someone starts asking questions."

"I'm sorry." Looking at Misty, then Brock, Ash gave them apologetic looks. "Don't worry about me; I want you to have fun. That's what everyone is here for, anyway."

"Alright, try to feel better. We need you in one piece for tomorrow," Misty said, trying to lighten the mood and failing. Ash nodded absentmindedly, drifting off. "What is going on?"

Gwen frowned at Misty. "The stress is taking its toll on him." she replied, worriedly watching after his retreating form, "He's just a kid, and one that's been thrown into _turmoil_ no less. I can't say I can blame him for wanting to skirt the attention, not when he most likely feels like his world is falling apart around him."

"He's been fighting for this since...since he was ten. Why would it now be more of a hassle then anything else?" the redhead asked. Brock rubbed his chin thoughtfully, digesting the conversation.

"He didn't expect that this would come along with the realization of that dream of being the Master...or that it'd pull him away from everything he cares about," he said, watching the amazement appear on her face.

"I thought he knew already."

- - -

Seeing the hotel room was welcomed. The walk had made him feel better, and being greeted upon his return by his favorite Pokemon warmed him. "Pikapi, chu?"

"They're still at the ball." Slipping his shoes off, he climbed onto the bed, curling up. Anguish still burned inside him; Ash moaned, holding back the tears that started threatening to fall. _I need to call. I can't take this anymore._ Rolling onto his back, he grabbed the phone and dialed the number, the ringing evoking a feeling of suspense in him. _Please, pick up._

- - -

May stretched out, her blanket slithering off, as there was a shrill ringing. She rolled over to grab the small phone, flipping it open and putting it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked groggily.

"May? It's me. I didn't wake you up did I?" Her eyes widened at the sound of Ash's relieved voice. She smiled widely.

"Ash, you called!" she squealed, pulling the blanket over her head. "Yeah, you woke me up, but I don't mind. I saw your battle today."

There was a moment of silence. "I'm sorry, I didn't know whether you would be in bed or not already." he said, "You saw it...?"

"Yeah, on the television. They were showing it." May peered over at Vanika and Silvanus, making sure they hadn't woken up from the ringing, and laughed. "That lady you were fighting was ugly."

She bit her lip when he snickered. "She was a mean one, too." Ash remarked, "Misty is worse though."

May smiled sadly, pulling on her hair gently. "Misty isn't so bad, she just worries too much." she said. There was a snort from Silvanus, showing that he was starting to wake up. She lowered her voice. "I miss you."

- - -

"I miss you." Ash sat, his back against the headboard. Twisting the phone cord, he closed his eyes, frowning.

"I miss you too, May." He would have smiled, had he not felt so bad.

"When are you going to be able to get out of there?" May asked. Ash paused, running over the schedule Gwen had given him in his mind, and shook his head.

"I hope it'll only be a few more days until I can. There are a lot more things I need to do before I'm free to go, _a lot_ of unexpected things." He heard May sigh, disappointment evident in the sound. "I'm trying to get out of as many of them as I can, because I rather be with you."

"Like what type of things?"

"Well…tonight there was a ball to celebrate the end of the tournament. I went after someone convinced me that running off tonight wasn't the brightest of ideas, and I just got back to the hotel after tolerating being harassed by so many people that I lost count and then puking up my guts." Ash shook his head. "None of this is at all what I wanted or am interesting in. I'm getting all antsy just sitting here."

She didn't like the sound of the descriptions he was giving of the ball. "And the interview?" May asked. His eyes widened.

"Where did you hear about that?… but no, we haven't had that yet. I think that is planned for tomorrow though," Ash replied, one-handedly pulling his jacket off and flinging it over to the other bed. He heard nothing but silence from the phone, then a sudden intake of breath.

"He's up." The statement was barely audible, and Ash had to listen closely to understand. "Hang on…"

There was the sound of the phone on the other end being set down, then total silence again. He twisted and untwisted the phone cord, waiting, until May finally returned several minutes later. "Silvanus?" he asked, not even needing the answer to know.

"Yes. He woke up and I didn't want him to bug me, so I put the phone down and acted as if I was asleep," she said. Ash laughed, putting a hand over the receiver to block it; he was sure that an act such as that wouldn't fool the clever creature.

"How about I call you later, when you aren't having to hide away from Vanika and Silvanus?" Ash had a feeling that had it not been nighttime, May would have yelled at him; under the circumstances though, she stayed quiet.

"Okay…You'll make sure to call tomorrow after your meeting thing?" He smiled.

"Of course, since I actually have time to sit and dial a number and not have to hang up immediately!" Ash replied, "Good night, May."

"…good night. I love you!" He waited until the line went dead before hanging up. Ash scooted down so that he was laid flat, rolling onto his side. The sick feeling that had lingered for most of the day was gone, leaving in its place warmth.

The thought of the interview that was to come couldn't even bring it back.

- - -

"Don't let the lights bother you. Just keep your focus off of them, and you won't go blind." Ash shrugged, neither smiling nor frowning. He could hear the chattering of the people in attendance, and the clicks and clacks of the various cameras situated about. Gwen discreetly patted him on the knee, trying to be reassuring as the room went still when the taping started.

Then the volume rose again. Many of them were cutting each other off, trying to get in their say and their questions before the others could, and only managing to make total chaos and confusion on all ends. Gwen stood, putting her arms up to motion for silence.

"Quiet down now! One at a time, that is no way to get things done! We have someone here to choose people for a reason." she said loudly, as the room stilled once more and went quiet, "Thank you."

Most of them rose their hands, frantic to get called on. Ash closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as a name was called out, and the person in question rose. "Yesterday you mentioned that you were not going to attend the ball, but yet you did anyway. What was the reason you originally denied the idea of going?"

Ash blinked. He wondered why people kept hounding him about whether or not he had went, and what the importance of it was. "As I have had to state several times already," he answered, making sure it was clear from his voice that the question alone was annoying him, "I didn't want to go."

"If that was the case, why go?" another one of them piped up, not waiting to be chosen. Both Gwen and Ash rolled their eyes; both knew it was not likely a subject they would drop any time soon.

"Because I decided it wouldn't kill me attending for a few hours." There was murmuring in the crowd as they jotted down the answers. Gwen shook her head, looking at him sympathetically.

"During the battle, you mentioned that you couldn't lose because of something. What was that about?" Ash's eyes widened; he shifted uncomfortably, giving his new friend a look that clearly defined in no uncertain terms that the answer was one he didn't want to give. Gwen smiled.

"That is one question that is to be unanswered," she said, saving him the trouble of struggling with it. Many of the reporters groaned, displeased with the course the interview was taking.

"Have you a Special Someone?" Frantically, Ash looked back at Gwen, who frowned uneasily, then back toward the horde. If he actually gave the truthful answer…

"I refuse to answer that." Biting his lip, he waited for someone to complain about his reply. Instead, more questions about it came up; he sighed. He could never win with them.

"Does that mean you might? And also, that you might not?" Ash could already feel that he was blushing, and the look on Gwen's face told him that it was a bad idea to keep looking straight ahead like he was. Tilting his head down slightly, he shook his head.

"I said I refuse to answer." Never before had he been put under so much stress in such a short period of time. Ash scowled.

"What are you hiding?" The room went quiet, even the most obnoxious of the group turning to look at the questioner. He was the only one standing, holding an electronic recorder in his open hand. "You refuse to answer a pretty vague question. A "yes" or "no" would suffice, and it would give no hint as to the identity of the person."

"It would lead to questions of the identity of the person, however," Gwen cut in, her eyes showing that she was faintly peeved. The man smirked.

"Hardly a problem for someone of your wit to manage to dodge, considering you seem to be helping him along with these questions." There were nods of agreement.

"That has no relevance. You typically stick to questions the person _will_ answer, and it is blatantly obvious that Ash will not answer any about that topic. Move on, or this interview will be over," the glaring woman said. She couldn't believe the nerve of people; they thirsted for a story so much so that they were willing to try to dig all aspects of a person's life up to get it, even when they didn't want it.

"What led you to competing in this tournament? Aren't you all the way from Kanto?"

"Yes, I'm from Kanto. I have already competed in the league there, the Orange Islands, Johto, and Hoenn, so this was the next one to try," Ash replied, actually smiling. They had finally dropped the subject! If they stayed to the safer topics, it wouldn't go so bad after all.

- - -

**_Aw, how cute. Protecting you from being attacked any time you enter town._** Silvanus' sarcastic thought just made May slap at him, barely taking her eyes off the television set. "Kanto? Where is that?" she asked, looking to Vanika for the answer.

The silver dragon huffed as the green one replied, **_It is West of here. Kanto and Nara are connected by a natural bridge. You don't remember it because of how young you were when we crossed over. _** Vanika's Mind link turned a shade of yellow, as she happily thought about those days.

"Does that mean I was from Kanto, too?" Both Vanika and Silvanus nodded. "Where in Kanto?" They looked at each other. **_I believe that is a discussion that should wait until later,_** Silvanus said.

- - -

"I never am going through that again!" Ash crossed his arms across his chest, slumped down in his chair. The interview had gone smoothly after the episode with the man, but he didn't wish to repeat any of it. Having people wanting to pry into things they had no business knowing about was not something he wished to open them to.

"Never say never," Gwen said. They sat in her office again, that time with Brock and Misty sitting with them. She understood the young man's frustration, but knew it could prove fatal if he let it get to him at the wrong time and at the wrong place. "You will most likely have more like that at some point, but you should be okay for now."

"What needs to be done now?" Misty asked, her own worries showing on her face; it had been a close call when the reporters had started getting curious about the 'Special Someone.' Gwen took out her planner, and scanned over one of the inner pages.

"Well, all that needs to be done is to wait out the crowds, and then you all are free to do as you please. Including-" She smiled at Ash. "-going to wherever your little lover is waiting."

"She knows?" both Gym Leaders asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, I told her all about it," Ash replied, waving a hand. He turned when he felt the middle-aged woman's scrutinizing gaze set on him, and he looked at her innocently. "I'm not planning anything."

"Oh?" She just gave them another sly smile, and bent down low over her desk. "Kid, I only met you yesterday, but I can already tell you are the type that will do anything to get where you have to be. That promise is important to you, isn't it?"

Ash hesitated, glancing from one person to the next, before nodding slowly. Gwen leaned back in her chair, tapping on her chin with one long fingernail thoughtfully as she regarded them. "What promise?" the red-haired girl asked, looking between Gwen and Ash curiously.

"It's nothing." He noted the suspicious look on her face, but only stood and stepped around the desk so that he could peer out of the windows, at the bustling street below. "What about it though?"

Gwen laughed. "Instead of just letting you run off and get yourself hurt, how's this for a plan? I help you get to the next city over, and steer you off there? That way you most likely will have an easier path to run, since not so many people will be lingering around there." she suggested, "Consider it?"

"I don't have to." Ash turned, sitting lightly on the windowsill, and gave her a grin that spoke volumes; there was no doubt as to what he thought. Gwen nodded, and looked to Brock and Misty.

"How about with you two? Would you be coming along?" Gwen asked. They glanced at each other.

"Well, by the sounds of things, this means we are going straight back to Wicker City," Brock said. Misty agreed.

"Though for how long…" she remarked, "I'm in though."

- - -

Gwen quietly looked around, waving to hurry the three young adults along as they loaded their stuff into the car's trunk. It was late at night, with a lot of the city asleep. It was also the perfect time for them to sneak out.

Crowding into the back of the vehicle, they were off, driving through the empty streets. "How did you get this to work out without getting asked questions?" Ash asked, getting a smile from the serene woman.

"I just said we were going to take a nighttime drive, and that we'd be back before morning." she said, shrugging indifferently. Gwen slumped down in her seat, pulling her jacket tighter around her, and closed her eyes. "I must tell you, it is important that you listen to what I say next very closely."

Brock, Misty, and Ash all looked at her, as the ex-Master reopened her eyes. She was serious. "When I drop you off in the next town, you will have to try to stay out of towns and cities as much as possible. In fact, I suggest not even nearing them if it is avoidable. If it comes down to having no choice in the matter on whether or not to, you need to be as discreet about it as possible, and not draw attention to yourselves."

"Because then it'll be the same as back there?" Misty remarked, as the elder woman nodded.

"Now, let me explain something to all of you, just so you know you have an extra option. You do know how each continent has their own Pokemon League?" The trio nodded, wondering where she was taking the speech. "Each one has their own Champions, each one their own Pokemon Master; neither overpowers the other, all of them work together. For the most part, even if you are considered a celebrity here for having that title, does not mean you will in the others. Quite contrary, in fact…"

Gwen smiled, pausing to peer around at her audience. She wondered whether or not it would sink in what her words would mean to them. "…they most likely wouldn't even know you are, except for those that have careers working in their respective leagues."

She waited for one of them to point out what exactly her point was, patiently tapping her foot against the back of the seat. "We could go into Kanto, and it would be like nothing was different," Brock said, as Gwen clapped once.

"Exactly. It would save you the hassle of hiding, and it would keep you all safe. With that title, it isn't exactly like you really need to _do_ anything," Gwen continued, turning to Ash, "so it isn't like you'd have to run back and forth between the two regions all that often."

He shook his head. "No," Ash said slowly, thinking over the implications of returning to the safety of his home in Kanto, "I can't do that. Not yet, anyway."

"Because of Silvanus and Vanika?" Brock asked, leaning forward to look across the two women. Ash tilted his hand a bit, in the 'so-so' gesture.

"Kinda. There is also the problem that May might not be so inclined to go from Nara to Kanto, and if that's the case…well, I'm certainly not forcing her, so I'm most likely going to stay here instead." He frowned slightly; he was more then happy to be leaving for Wicker City, but the thought of the possibilities of problems that could arise was a stern reminder that not everything was perfect. Yet.

"You'll find a way." Gwen winked at him, as the car slowed to a stop, rumbling idly. "Well, here we are. Let's get you lot together."

Getting out, they rounded the car and opened the trunk, once again pulling everything out. Gwen faced the three friends, hugging herself as she just watched them. "Good luck to all of you. I would love to be able to come along, just to meet the lucky girl." Giving them a rueful smile, she started back toward the car, pausing at the door.

"Thank you for everything Gwen." Ash said, "I owe you." She shook her head.

"You don't owe me anything." Putting one foot into the car, she twisted to look in their direction. "Well…actually, just one thing. Don't give up. If I find out you did, I'll come after you personally."

It was Ash's turn to grin, as she climbed in and shut the door. Watching the moving shadow disappear down the road that led to Transia City, they stood in silent contemplation.


	11. Chapter Ten: Past, Meet Present

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Here we are at Chapter Ten. DG hasn't been up on FFN all that long, and yet it is probably one of my best. My third longest this far in, is second in the number of hits it has (1204!), and has more alerts on it then any of my other stories. I'm quite proud of this. I was assuming that because of how rushed this is, it would suck so badly that no one would like it, yet here we are. I thank you all for sticking with me while I am working on this, and hope that you all will be around when DG finally sees it's ending. :)

Warning: Ok you pervs (kidding), go elsewhere to read a sex scene. ;p It isn't in this chapter either. You'll have to wait a little while longer to read my (badly) wrote one...or two. Or three. Four, five, six... XD Nah, not that many. Only two or so.

- Chapter Ten: Past, Meet Present -

**_You are worried?_** Silvanus asked, his green eyes looking almost kind. It had been several days since the phone call, and there had been neither sight nor sound since that night. May looked at the glowing screen on her phone, at the '0 Messages' that was across the bottom of it, and nodded.

"Silvanus, I'm scared." The lithe creature blinked; he normally didn't handle situations that involved something so unstable as feelings. It wasn't his strong suit to help with them, nor with deciphering what was causing them.

**_…You need Vanika?_** It was his only way to get out of the sticky situation, though it was also more hurtful then helpful. May shook her head, making shapes in the dirt with her hand, holding back a sob. Silvanus looked around, alarmed, and patted the air with a claw. The last thing he needed was not only a highly unstable teenager, but also a _crying_ unstable teenager. **_They'll be here._**

"But what if something happened?" she asked, chewing on her lip worriedly. "If something happened-" **_Nothing has happened._** "How do you know?"

Silvanus stood, stretching his long body toward the sky. **_I know all._** May knew he was smirking, by how his Mind link turned a light purple color.

- - -

Heads snapping up, both Vanika and Silvanus looked about; they had felt the same thing – someone was entering the forest. **_I'll go look into it,_** Vanika said, stretching her legs out and trotting into the gloom, disappearing into the leafy bushes.

She hunched down when she could hear the crunch of footsteps – several footsteps, meaning it was more then one person – and the rustle of the bushes as they passed. Vanika crawled on her stomach, sticking her nose out to look at them. She felt her heart suddenly race, and she scrambled to get back, tearing through the forest as fast as she could.

**_What is it? Who was it?_** Silvanus hastily stood when she burst from the foliage, frantically running around. Vanika shook her head, smiling her dragon smile, and leaped up, doing a flip.

**_Get May!_** She rushed headlong into the cave, her silver counterpart following behind cautiously, and searched for the human girl. **_She'll be so happy! They've returned!_**

There was no reason that she needed to specify; they both knew who 'they' was. Within minutes they were both calling out, both verbally – with loud growls and roars – and mentally.

"What is the hurry? I wanted to go play," May said, peering from behind one of the many trees. Silvanus spun around, his tail smacking into another trunk. He winced. **_Get back to the cave. Now._** Confusion evident on her face, she picked her way through the barrier and into the open space, looking at her two reptilian parents. "What?"

**_Be patient. You'll see why we called you back,_** Vanika murmured, watching the tree line for some sign of movement. May could only stare, before turning to look in the same direction; she wondered what exactly had them so jumpy and excited.

A small yellow form darted out of the greenery, and attached itself to her leg. "Pika!"

May's eyes widened. "Pikachu?" she said, as the pokemon hopped off, beaming up at her. The realization of what was happening sinking in, she bounded off, leaving her smirking parents at the cave, and followed Pikachu through the trees. "Ash! ASH!"

She pounced on the unsuspecting young man, knocking him back past Misty and Brock. There was a moment of chaos and confusion between the group, as Ash stumbled and fell on the ground, pulling May down with him. "I think you owe me 20 bucks," Brock remarked, getting a faint smile from Misty.

"Who tipped you off?" Ash asked, as she clung on tightly. May looked at him in confusion, leaning back slightly to stare. "Um…who told you?"

"Pikachu did," she replied, snuggled against him again, disregarding the presence of the two Gym Leaders. "Misty!" May twisted to look at the redhead. "Nothing happened, did it?"

Shaking her head, Misty smiled at the acquisitive teenager. "No, everything went fine."

"Surprisingly. I thought we'd of had more trouble getting here." Ash felt his heart sink, as he remembered the situation at hand; he had a long night ahead.

As he stood up with May, he dreaded the discussion he would be having with Vanika and Silvanus that night.

- - -

Dinner was a happy affair. Silvanus, being what most would consider as 'nice,' had actually helped with making it, getting food from town so that they could have a big meal. For the most part, it was spent retelling what had happened in both Wicker and Transia City, laughing over the story of the disaster that was the Transia Ball and of what had happened in Wicker City with the salespeople and events going on.

When everything was cleared away, and two of the four humans had turned in for bed, it was finally time to broach the subject that was Gwen's grim prediction. "You said you wanted to talk about something, earlier," May said, yawning quietly as she leaned back against Ash, holding onto the arm that was around her.

**_Yes, what is it about?_** Vanika asked, sitting down in front of them, pulling Silvanus over roughly with her tail. **_It's important?_**

Ash took a deep, steadying breath. "Yes, very. I…" Looking over at May, he abruptly cut himself off, correcting himself. "…We have a problem."

Even Silvanus watched him, curiosity in his eyes. **_What problem?_**

Biting his lip, Ash closed his eyes, not sure of whether he actually wanted to mention anything about it to them yet. "Ash…?" May asked, frowning at him, "What is wrong?"

"The problem is…the problem is, the title is going to be causing a lot of attention to be drawn not only to me, but to you three as well. Gwen, she said there was really only one way to avoid it, and everything it would bring with it, and that was to _stay out of Nara._" Ash tensed up after he quickly told them. "I don't know what to do. If I stay here, it puts you three in danger, but if I go back to Kanto, that means…"

They sat in awkward silence, none of them sure of what to say or what to do. May worried her lip, narrowing her green eyes. "Kanto? That place we were talking about before?" she asked.

**_Yes, it is._** Silvanus put his head down, his Mind link colored in displeasure. He knew what could happen, and neither option thrilled him at all. It didn't make Vanika happy either, it appeared. **_So...what is it that you are asking of us, exactly?_**

"I just...don't know." Ash could see that the silver creature was growing suspicious, an almost angry look appearing on the dragon's face. He shrugged nervously. "I don't know. I don't want any of you to get hurt, but I don't exactly want to leave either."

**_You are, as humans say, stuck between a rock and a hard place._** Vanika's more sympathetic voice was more then welcomed into the conversation. She tilted her head thoughtfully. **_I think it might be time we talked, both of you._** Silvanus looked at her in alarm, his wings unfurling to their full span and he rose up, floating inches from the ground. **_Calm down, Silve._**

"Talk about what?" the two humans questioned. May had never seen her adoptive father become so excited, and it bothered her a bit that he was. She smiled though, when she felt Ash squeeze her gently. "Vanika?"

**_Do you remember when you were little, when we found you?_** May stared at her with wide eyes, nodding slowly. "Kinda...I know I was in this dark place, and that I was scared or something, but that's about it." **_Well, do you not remember _why_ you were there? You had run away from home..._**

Vanika dove into the explanation, weaving the past into words as the teenagers sat, listening in awe and confusion. "Where was that all done at?" Ash interrupted the still-talking Vanika. She looked to Silvanus for an answer.

His shoulders slumped. **_Southwestern Kanto. There was a town only about a mile away when we found her in the woods. I'm not sure of the name. I'm not familiar with Kanto like I am with Nara._**

****"Viridian City? Pewter City? Pallet Town?" Silvanus' eyes lit up at the sound of the small town's name. **_That's it, the last one. Pallet Town._**

"That's where I'm from!" Ash yelled, causing the three to jump. **_Really? That means you two might have known each other before,_** the female pointed out, giving them her own impression of a human smile. "What family?"

May's eyes narrowed at the mention of family, remembering quite clearly her human family since Vanika had reminded her of the past - her drunken mother, her temperamental father, her brother that was never around, and her grandfather. Ash went quiet, seeing from her expression that it was not a good idea to ask about the people she had left behind in Kanto. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized.

"No." She closed her eyes, letting the distant memory of the father that had, except for his temper, been relatively good to her, sink back into the recesses of her mind. "No, don't, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just hard thinking about them is all." **_It would be, after so long of not having to or trying to,_** Silvanus said quietly.

She shook her head. "My family's name was...was..." Vanika tapped her on the knee with a claw. **_It's Oak. You can't remember because you haven't had to use it. You've just been 'May.'_**

"Oak?" Ash turned, looking at the anxious girl, his eyes widening steadily. She visibly shrank down, trying to get into a ball to make herself as small as possible. "I know your brother and your grandfather then."

"Is that bad?" she asked. Even her voice was quiet, small. She had heard that, because of family, some people tended to stay away from others, and even break up friendships and relationships for it. Ash shook his head, pulling her over softly.

Vanika poked the still male, Silvanus glaring at her irritably. She pointedly started to get up and walk away, looking over her shoulder at him. The movement screamed that he was to follow, and he obediently followed the unspoken order. Waiting until the two were gone, Ash sighed. "No, it isn't bad. Your brother, Gary…he's just my rival is all, and your grandfather was the one that started me on Pokemon Training. Why would it be bad?"

May quietly took hold of his hand, twining her smaller fingers between his, frowning. "A lady in the city said that her husband left her because of _her_ family, and that she had friends that the same typa thing happened, so…"

"Oh no, no, no, you shouldn't worry about that!" Ash turned his hand so that they could see the small emerald ring that was still on May's. "See that? I meant it when I gave it to you. I care about you, and _nothing_ is going to change that….even if you had a family that was actually all ghouls in disguise."

She giggled, when he grinned mischievously and pushed her over. They tumbled backwards, neither complaining and both laughing. "Now," Ash continued, pinning May down by the shoulders, "are you still worried?"

Shaking her head, May yelped in surprise, her eyes widening and slightly bulging, as he carefully planted a kiss right under her ear, pressing the tip of his tongue against the warm flesh. "Ash!"

"Sensitive spot there, hm? That was easier to find then I thought it would be," the boy snickered, watching her turn pink in embarrassment. Ash let up though, the wicked smile still remaining. "If you want, I won't do that again."

"No, it's fine, I just…you surprised me." May admitted, curling into a ball again when he rolled to the side to pull her into another hug. "But, if….if I said I wanted to go to Kanto, what would you do?"

"Let's see, what would I do…first, I'd find out _why_ you want to go there, instead of staying here, by any means necessary." Ash put a hand up, ticking the fingers off. "Second, I'd ask Vanika and Silvanus about it, see if they wanting to come and all that. Third, I'd try to tell Brock and Misty you're coming with, and _not_ get my head ripped off for it. Fourth, we would get everything we'd need together. And fifth we would just go."

"Why I want to go?" she said, snuggling against him. May had to think about it for a minute, the answer not quite clear to herself; when it came to her, she smiled. "I want to because you want to." Seeing the disapproving look Ash started getting, she hastily continued, "And because I want to be with you, but you said it isn't safe here and Kanto is, but then that means I couldn't be."

"May, that…" She put a hand up, silencing the slightly troubled young man.

"I have other reasons…I just have yet to come up with them." Ash laughed, the statement that was said so innocently sounding more comical then serious. May smiled. "We can talk to Vanika about it tomorrow."

"Silvanus is gunna be angry." May nodded, thinking about the silver reptile that had acted as both a father and mentor since she was a preschooler. "He'll probably claw my eyes out."

"I don't think he's that mean," she said, "even if he does try to look like it."

"Maybe…" he conceded, "but I rather not risk it. Let Vanika break the news to him when I am out of his range of attack." May giggled again, getting the solemn teenager to crack a smile.

"How about we go inside?" Ash suggested when he noticed the slight chill that was starting to fall over the forest. The weather around the forest was never normal, or so it seemed to him. "It's going to get cold soon."

"And it's late!" Nodding in agreement, May stood up with him to return to the comfort of the inner cavern.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Taking Flight

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Hm. Finally at Chapter 11? Quite the accomplishment, as this is starting to catch up steadily with my star fan fictions Shadow League and The Amateur Trainer. :D Nice.

As for this chapter...all I can say, is brace yourself for it. As you can see from the warning (which I should probably put in BIG BOLD LETTERS so no new comers wonder in here and miss it -blinks- somehow), we've came to the chapter that was the hardest to write. I suck at writing love scenes...as it is, this is my first one that wasn't rushed and/or scrapped altogether, so cut me a little slack if it kinda sucks, alright? I understand if it does, I expect it to, to be honest, but really, if you can do any better, dammit, point out the problems! How in hell am I to improve on them if I don't know what I'm doing wrong >:D And so no one mentions this, I'm aware the scene is actually very...mellow?...I guess you could call it. I meant for it to be that way, to take some stress off of me, and to keep something for the plot later on, and yes, there is one a bit later after this one. (chapter 16).

If anyone feels it oversteps what is allowed here on wonderful FFN, don't go off reporting me, eh? Just give me a shout, and I'll go take it up to some FAQ person and if it is indeed too much, I CAN infact edit it. I'm not a druid who will rip someone's head off for saying something I don't like (unless it's a flame. Then you go down >:D ... .XD haha). I really don't feel like having my story deleted for one scene. That's assinine, yes?

And as of now, DG is rated M. I had to bump it up, and this is actually why I had it at T before, or whatever the rating below M is, but I decided to take it up again, just in case. As for the chapter title, YES, it does have a purpose. I know at first glance, it appears to have nothing to do with what happens, but just keep in mind that saying about 'leaving the nest,' yes? You'll figure it out. :)

Warning: Cheers, you finally got to the chapter. ;p Not that it is all that worth it anyway.

- Chapter Eleven: Taking Flight -

Vanika took to the idea extremely well; even better then they thought she would. **_It is a wonderful idea. I wonder though, what will you do when you get there? Where will you go?_**

Ash and May looked at each other. They hadn't actually thought about what would happen in Kanto, let alone where they could go.. "Well," Ash said, biting his lip as he mulled over the questions, "Misty has her gym, and Brock has his. We could stay with one of them for awhile or…"

"Or what?" the teenage girl asked. Ash glanced between the two females, both of which were watching him curiously. He smiled slightly, almost warily.

"Stay with my family. That way, you could either go see yours again, but you could also stay away from them. Whichever you wanted." **_It's a start. You need to decide before leaving, and then you must also consider us._** Us referred to Vanika and Silvanus. "Why don't you come with? There are a lot of forests and woods in Kanto that you could hide away in, or even stay out in the open instead. They'd get used to you being there."

Vanika's link colored ruefully. **_I wish I could. Convincing Silve, though, it going to take a lot of work on my part, and on yours. He won't want to travel that far again._**

"If we all talk to him, maybe he'll say that he'll go with," May said, her voice raising hopefully. It was highly unlikely that her scenario would be the case; the male dragon was, for the most part, set in his ways.

**_Highly doubtful, I'm afraid._** Vanika shook her head, wings curling against her back. She felt the disappointment that had appeared on her 'daughter's' face, her own sadness enhanced. **_We can try, but I cannot promise that it'll get us any closer to getting Silvanus to agree to go._**

**_Agree to go where?_** They jumped when the sudden intrusion, the gray reptile that was Silvanus, appeared behind Ash, his eyes narrowed. Sensing the sudden uneasiness both humans felt, he circled around to stare intently at them. **_Where?_**

"Kanto," May replied quietly, scooting back slightly as he advanced on them. Silvanus tilted his head. **_Kanto? Why?_** "Because...because that's where I'm going, and if you two came with, you wouldn't have people trying to off you constantly."

Vanika winced, flexing her wings, almost feeling a twinge of pain at the mere mention of the humans that entered the forest with the idea of getting wealth and glory. **_It is a valid point. This has never been a safe place for us; the humans in the city are too wary of our presence, and will not rest until either the 'Treasure' is found or they have our heads,_** Vanika said, **_Kanto would also be much closer to them._**

Silvanus hunched down, neither denying or accepting the idea, and scowled. **_This has been our home for ten years, and now you ask that we leave, so quickly? Bah!_** He stalked off.

"That went better then what I had expected to happen," Ash said, looking slightly paler then before. The reptilian creature had a way of making someone uncomfortable without even looking at them, and he was no exception.

"Though we still didn't get him to agree to go." May fidgeted, antsy and disappointed that they still had to work on her father. "It's going to take too long to!"

**_It'll work out,_** Vanika assured them. She didn't let them in on what she had saw in her mate that they didn't; he was closer to caving in then it seemed.

- - -

**_I refuse!_** Silvanus dove down under the surface, pulling his wings tightly against his back as he doggy-paddled deeper into the lake, followed closely by Vanika. **_Why would you agree to go on such a trip? We don't know what to expect there!_**

**_We don't, but they do._** The green creature wouldn't give up; there was too much at stake to let it go. Silvanus spun around, his eyes glowing dimly in the gloom.

**_Dependency! You ask me to _depend_ on a bunch of human children? You're mad!_** Vanika whipped forward, smacking her tail against his head.

**_You still do not understand the importance of this?_** Vanika paused when he narrowed his eyes, staring at her intently. **_Our daughter is planning on leaving, to enter that same realm that you are so frightened to! That alone should be reason enough!_**

Silvanus made a gurgling sound, spreading his wings out to their full span. His oxygen was running out, and both of them needed to get to the surface. **_I am not frightened of Kanto._**

**_Then why do you persist on denying the chance to go? You like it here? You rather let her go on her own finally? What?_** Vanika imitated his movements, flapping her wings to speed toward the surface of the lake. There were several moments of silence between them, as they gasped for breath.

Scowling, Silvanus paddled back to the shore. **_I don't know._** The normally confident dragon shuffled off, tail and head down. She watched him as he disappearing into the overgrowth.

- - -

**_Tell Misty._** Vanika stepped up to the two humans, one of which was engrossed into the tome that lay open between them. Ash was the first of the two to acknowledge the dragon's presence. "Tell her what?" he asked, shutting the book as May peeked up also. **_Tell her you are going. Silvanus and I can catch up later, when he stops being stubborn about this._**

"But you had said that…" May started, silencing when Vanika shook her head. The weary lizard smiled, leaving no doubt that she still believed it. **_And I meant it. He needs a little push, and if we get you off, that might the ticket to getting us there._** "I don't want to just leave you both here though!" **_You must trust me. We'll be fine._**

"Are you sure about that?" Ash couldn't help but feel hesitant about going along with Vanika's sudden plan; it didn't sound like it could work in regards to Silvanus. When she nodded determinedly, he sighed and shrugged. "If you think so…we could just go, but not go that far off that there would be no way to contact you or vice versa."

May's shoulders slumped. "If we do, could we do that instead? I don't want to leave Silvanus and Vanika," she said, her own reluctance acutely showing.

**_Do as you wish. I hope, though, that you will not let us hinder what you do with your life, my child._** Vanika seemed almost to wilt, her wings going limp and lifeless, her head dropping slightly. **_You need to find your niche in the world, and hanging around Silve and me isn't going to help you do that._**

Glancing back at them once more, the female reptile hopped out into the bushes, fading into the greenery. Feeling almost hollow from being told she was to walk away from the only parents she had known since she was little, May bit her lip, her eyes tearing up. "Not without…"

"She'll get Silvanus to come around, we just have to be patient is all and hope she's right." Ash gently wrapped an arm around her, closing his eyes. "What do you want to do, though? We can either just wait this out, or do as she suggested. It's up to you, May."

"Vanika said to go, but I don't…it hurts." She sniffled, taking little comfort in the reassurances; none of it seemed to matter. May shook her head. "I don't want to leave them…it'll hurt too much."

"I know the feeling." May bent her knees, hugging her legs to her chest, and put her head on his shoulder, the silent tears steadily making a trail down her cheeks. Ash wiped them away. "When I was eight my father had left to join the Pokemon League, and I cried my eyes out for days because I hadn't wanted him to leave me. Then when I was ten, I had done the same exact thing, and that left my mother in Pallet Town."

"Do you ever see her?" Ash nodded when she looked up at him. "How often?"

"It depends on how long it takes for me to get through my training for whatever League I'm in. For this one, it'll have probably been three or four months, depending on if you count the time it took to get here from Kanto or not." May lifted up slightly, her eyes widening. "So it isn't like you'd never see them again. Just not as much."

"Do you call her?" May asked. Once again he nodded, the unease that had built up starting to melt away.

"Sometimes. I don't that often, just because there are things to do and stuff." Ash frowned, actually feeling somewhat homesick; it wasn't often that he dwelled on what he had in his hometown. Smiling though, he shrugged.

"How would I be able to talk to Vanika and Silvanus though? They can't use a phone." Paling slightly, Ash had to think fast to come up with a suitable answer.

"Perhaps they can still use the Mind link with you or something like that. I don't know how it works, so I couldn't say for sure…" May grinned then, her eyes brightening.

"Can we try it then? As long as we can come back?" He could only stare, unsure of whether or not to say yes or no. "Well? Can we?"

"I suppose so," he said reluctantly, getting a rough hug from her. Ash wondered whether he should have waited until discussing it with the others before agreeing.

- - -

"You did _what_?" Ash rocked back on his heels, his eyes widening to the size of saucers when both Misty and Brock yelled at him. He put his hands up in a sign of surrender, not wanting an argument with them. "Why in the name of hell would you say we would take her and just walk out? Who came up with this idea?"

"Vanika," he replied, looking grimly at them. "It's obvious to me that none of us can stay here much longer, and May has made it clear she wants to come with, but also wants Vanika and Silvanus to, also."

"The problem is then? Why aren't they coming?" Brock asked, his confusion evident on his face. Ash frowned.

"Silvanus has said that he refused to leave this forest. Vanika has already suggested that we – and May – start off to Kanto, so that he'll see that her and May are serious about it, in hopes that'll he'll change his mind." Not even Misty could think of what to say in response. "Come on, what was I to do? I couldn't just flat out say _no_…"

"Actually, you could, very easily." Misty tapped her foot on the stone ground, her ocean blue eyes narrowed. "You just have some need to not deny May of anything that is within your power to give."

Ash rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe she was turning it into a debate about whether or not he was letting things get out of hand. "I like making her happy. Is _that_ wrong now?" he asked icily.

"No, it isn't wrong, but…" Misty shifted uncomfortably. "We don't want you getting hurt, is all."

"I won't!" Ash frowned at them. He didn't like the way the redhead kept badgering him about the same thing, and never giving a reason. "I...I know what I'm doing. You don't need to keep worrying."

"If you two are finished," Brock commented, "we still need to decide what to do about this situation with going to Kanto." The pair looked at him curiously.

"What? Do you have a plan of some sort?" Ash asked, getting a nod from the older man. "Spill it, then!"

Brock smiled. "All we do is get everything together, and go whenever she's ready…there is one thing you must realize, though." As Ash continued to stare blankly, he elaborated. "This is going to be quite a change from what she's used to. I'll be surprised if May doesn't have a breakdown at some point."

"I know." He looked away, listening to the quiet footsteps as the young girl they were talking about entered the cave. "There...was already a case of that, so I know to expect it later on."

- - -

**_Do not forget what I said. _**Vanika stretched up, placing her claws on May's shoulders and staring ruefully into the sad green eyes. She hoped she was making the right decision in sending them off. **_I'll be along with Silvanus as soon as I can._**

"Just don't let anything happen. I don't want you getting hurt again," May said as the dragon hopped off, hunching down on the ground to stare up at them. **_Now go, before Silve gets in the way!_** "Tell him I said bye."

Vanika smiled then, waving a claw. **_I'll make sure to, though I'm not so sure he'll accept that!_** The teenager turned and stepped out into the gloom of the forest, knowing that the longer she lingered around, the more she'd just want to cancel the whole trip. "Good bye, Vanika," May whispered.

It took several minutes to find the trio that waited, standing at the lone "entrance" into the forest, looking away silently. Seeing her approach, Misty and Brock gave Ash meaningful looks, and walked away, slowly taking the lead on the trail. Without a word, he took her hand, comfortingly squeezing it.

The day looked as if it would be depressingly quiet.

- - -

After a late dinner, they had all retired to bed after a long day of walking. Thankfully, there was a small town where they had arrived, and they had been able to check into a hotel instead of staying out in the wilderness for the night.

Instead of getting _two_ rooms like normal, three had to rented so that May could stay in the same one as Ash, and Misty and Brock would have separate rooms. What proved more interesting was trying to explain the concept of sleeping in a bed instead of on the ground.

At that moment though, it was almost midnight, and both teenagers were still wide-awake. "How are you holding up?" Ash asked.

May stayed silent, bending to sprawl out more and to stretch her thin limbs. "I'm fine," she replied, smiling slightly at him, "but only if you stay here."

"I hadn't thought to do otherwise." Nuzzling her, Ash wrapped his arms around her waist, relaxing when May moved to get closer yet again. "Are you really alright though?"

Frowning, she turned to face him, wincing when she accidentally pulled her hair. "I just miss them is all." May admitted, "And Kanto scares me. I don't know what's there."

Propping himself up on his elbow, Ash listened intently. He found that it usually was better to just listen instead of talk, and wait until she was done rambling before trying to reply. When May had finished, blinking at him, he nodded once. "That's normal." he said, "Kanto though…why would that scare you?"

"I dunno…" May rolled onto her back when he leaned over her so that they were nose-to-nose, "There could be anything there."

"There could also be _nothing_ there, though." She shivered when he whispered into her ear. "I won't let anything hurt you. I'll protect you, whether our wonderful traveling companions like it or not. You shouldn't have to be afraid of anything."

"Ash…" May looked at him in confusion, her eyes widening; she could feel her face heat up as she turned red, becoming nervous and embarrassed quickly. "What…?"

"I'm…I…" Ash took a deep, shuddering breath, and it became apparent that he was antsy when he sat up, and started playing with the sheets. He mumbled, his head tilted down so that what he said was not audible.

"I can't hear you." May pushed herself up, getting onto her knees beside him, and peered curiously at him. "What?"

Swallowing, he closed his eyes; Ash hoped he wouldn't regret what he was going to say. "I want you."

He looked at May without turning his head, eyes narrowed. She stared, not quite comprehending what the meaning was behind the statement; it merely sounded strange. Letting it sink in, May's lips formed an 'O,' the realization hitting her. "Oh, _oh_," she said, "_that_?"

"Yes, 'that.'" May looked away, unsure of what to do or say, and wished she had Vanika to ask about it. The dragon, however, was several miles away, and no where close enough to talk to, even with the Mind link.

May also wished they her and Silvanus had thought to give her lessons on how humans did things in such a case, but there was no point in mourning the lack of them.

Wondering if she was about to make another mistake, May swung around so she was facing Ash, who was refusing to look up from his clenched hands. Forcing the doubt back, she carefully took one in her smaller hands, the fingers loosening so that the palm was revealed. "Take me," she said quietly, sounding almost shy.

"What?" Ash asked, his head snapping up, his eyes wide and bright. He put his hands up, shaking his head slowly. "No, May, no. This isn't…you don't just agree to something like that. If you're not…"

"Would it make you happy?"

"Well, ah…I suppose so."

"I'm happy then." May smiled, putting her arms out as if for a hug. Ash turned his head, looking at her hesitantly. He, with a shaky smile, leaned forward and let her link her hands together behind his neck, pulling him over with her.

Neither were certain what they were doing, or what was happening; both of them were trembling like leaves, their movements nervous and jerky. "Are you sure about this?" Ash asked, blushing a bright red as he gently kissed the slight indent that was at her collar.

May nodded, the words that should have been said lost, and fumbled with his shirt, pulling it up over his head when Ash helped ease it off. She put her arms up, sitting up straight so that he could peel hers off. Shivering from the sudden rush of cold, May curled into a ball.

Worriedly, Ash hugged her, rubbing her arms to warm her, and pulled the blanket and sheets back. "Under here. There isn't any point for you to get sick from being chilled," he said, getting the trembling girl to crawl up so she could get under the blanket, as goose bumps appeared on her bared skin. "All better?"

"No, not quite." May pulled, making him crawl in after her, and latched on. With a smile, she put her head on his shoulder, letting the young man caress the multiple slight curves and the sensitive flesh without complaint, actually contentedly closing her eyes. "Now it is."

Tilting her head back, May moaned, as Ash kissed the pulse at her throat, lowering, trailing down to the gentle curves of her breasts. With a sudden tug, he pulled her shorts and panties down, and she moved her legs so they would come off totally. Sitting back, Ash looked at her; he hadn't actually _looked_ when they had been in the lake together, but now that he had the time - not to mention, the reason! - to just stare, he took up the chance.

He blinked, when May looked back at him, her eyes innocently wide. There was a moment when they just watched the other, until she slid over and shoved him over, playfully and teasingly imitating him. "My turn," she whispered, grinning widely as she whispered it into his ear, both of them tingeing pink again.

For the most part, May was just trying to copy from what she saw and felt; it was the only experience, and only understanding of what exactly what was going on. Ash had to actually guide her along, quietly trying to explain what was happening when the inquisitive look returned - though, it went rather strangely, considering he himself did not quite know. "Are you ok?" he asked, when she edged his boxers off, pausing for a moment to peer at him curiously, as if she thought she had done something wrong.

"I'm fine, I just feel weird is all." Ash frowned, worry in his eyes, and pulled her over to sit beside him. She cuddled against him.

"You do feel kinda clammy. Do you want to stop?" he asked. May nodded, then shook her head, keeping latched onto Ash; she felt like a rubber band that was pulled tight.

"Just for a minute." Tensely, Ash started trying to rub the knots out, kneading the muscles in her back and shoulders. He could feel May relax, her thin shoulders slumping and her head falling to the side, eyes closed and getting a small smile. She sighed softly when he pulled her hair back, combing his fingers through it. "Thank you, I'm better now. I'm sorry, I keep mucking up and you are being so nice-"

"Shh, shh, shh." May fell silent, laying back when Ash shifted to face her, keeping one hand to her mouth. Reassuringly, he moved the trembling hand and planted a kiss on the revealed lips. "You're doing fine. There's nothing that you should feel a need to apologize for, you haven't done anything wrong."

"But Ash!" May said, actually sitting up and leaning forward, forcing the baffled young man to scoot back. She lowered her voice, looking ruefully at him. "You always end up doing everything and having to walk me through everything else. I can't even get through this without being talked through it!"

"May, don't be upset." Ash cupped her face, using a thumb to wipe away a stray tear. It appeared as if all of the stress of the past days was draining out finally. "You don't honestly think I'm doing any better? This is just as new to me as it is to you, except that I have been able to hear what other people have said on the matter. And as for everything else... your life has been sheltered, so it would be expected that what is considered 'normal' to most would be almost alien to you." "It still...you shouldn't have to do this, always explaining things like this."

May rubbed her eyes, shuddering. Ash shook his head, sympathetically squeezing her hands, and let go so she could half lean, half fall over into his open embrace. "We..."

"No." Laying back, pulling the blanket tighter around them, he shook his head again. "You're in no condition for this. Too much has been happening and you're shaken enough as it is without adding on what'll happen if we continued onto it all."

"What'll happen?" she asked. Ash smiled, smoothing back the brown hair that fell over her face. May blinked.

"Don't worry about it. You need to rest, and thinking about it will not help that." It took little to no prodding to get May to settle down, taking to the serenity of sleep.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Spring Surprise

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Aha, I am getting so lazy. D: Not posting the chapters as quickly as I was originally...eh. Anyway, the next one after this will probably be posted on Sunday or Monday, since I'll be gone all day tomorrow (Saturday!) for Journey Across America. Squeee.

Warning: Eh, none for this chapter.

- Chapter Twelve: Spring Surprise -

"Did you all sleep well?" Brock asked. They were sitting around a table in a near-by restaurant. Misty nodded, stirring her milk with a straw, and peered at the pair that had been staying unusually quiet.

"Is something going on?" she questioned, getting a glance from May and a frown from Ash. They both shook their heads.

"Nothing," the young man said, quickly tilting his head down to stare into his bowl of cereal. He could feel that he was starting to blush, turning warm at the same time. "Just a little tired still is all."

"Really now?" the redhead replied, raising an eyebrow when May nodded quickly, flushing just as pink as Ash was at that moment. Misty bit her lip, looking at them thoughtfully. Changing the subject, she glanced away. "What are we doing from here? Should we just stay put until we catch word from Vanika, or go on?"

"I thought we couldn't stay in towns for long." May remembered that it had been mentioned that things could get messy if Ash's presence became too apparent, and lingering in one area could and would cause just that. "Shouldn't we keep moving?"

Relieved that the subject had been changed, the young man nodded. "Yeah, because we shouldn't, but a few days shouldn't hurt us all that much as long as I keep low and stay out of trouble," Ash said, getting a smirk out of Brock.

"You? Stay out of trouble? You said that when we entered Nara to begin with!" the elder snickered, getting a scowl from the younger one. Quirking his lips, Brock quickly looked from Ash, to May, then back again; it was quite the obvious indicator as to what he was referring to.

Ash's eyes narrowed dangerously, not pleased with the unspoken taunt, though Misty seemed to think it funny by the expression on her face. "I've yet to get in 'trouble.'" he replied waspishly, silencing the quiet chortles of his two long-time traveling companions, "If you'll excuse me..."

He stood up from his chair, pushing it back out of his way, and walked away from the table, leaving behind a very confused May and a fuming Misty and Brock.

- - -

Silvanus scowled, pointedly ignoring the pleading Vanika, as he continued to lounge in the uppermost branches of a tree. He knew exactly what was happening, and he wasn't going to let either his mate or his human daughter get away with it! Even if it meant hurting himself, he wouldn't let them win!

It also meant listening to Vanika whine, but it was something the male reptile was immune to. **_Silve! Why are you so stubborn? Would it kill you to at least give it a shot?_**, she snapped, getting a smack in the head with Silvanus' tail.

**_I refuse to be a part of that happy little family she's found more to her liking!_** Silvanus rolled so that he fell down through the branches, landing with a thud on the ground below. Vanika followed him, her silver eyes widening.

**_Happy little...you're jealous!_** She would have started laughing if it had been anyone else she was saying it to. At that moment, though, she was wise enough to keep a straight face and steady Voice. **_You're jealous of her 'relationship' with Ash! That's why you are trying so hard to not give in!_**

With a roar of rage, Silvanus swung around to glare at her, his anger evident in his eyes. **_And what of it? What of it if I am? We _raised_ her, and then...then...May went and..._**

**_Grew up?_** Vanika's sympathetic look only enhanced the hot temper. **_You realize you are acting and doing exactly as a _human_ father would?_** She saddened, her wings going limp. **_It would be the same if we had our own._**

Silvanus was taken aback, as he stared at her. His life partner had just shown a light on the situation, forcing him to actually _look_ at it as a Dragon rather then a Parent. He didn't like what he was seeing. **_This doesn't mean I'm going to run off to find them,_** he said, giving her a look that said in no uncertain terms that he was being serious.

- - -

The good thing about the town they were in, was that it had a hot spring to the East of it, and was open to the public for their use. At that very moment, May soaked in the warm water, her back against the stone wall, her head thrown back and eyes closed.

It was like being back at home, except that it wasn't chilly like the lake, and was less open to peeking eyes...not that she cared any about who saw; modesty had never been a big part of her life or personality.

The morning ran through her mind like a movie on repeat, nagging at her constantly. May couldn't help but wonder about what had changed, and what had caused everyone to become so upset. There was the sound of sloshing water, and another body joined her in the pool. "Oh!" she said, peering over through the light steam at the redhead, "Misty, you wanted to come too?"

Nodding, Misty sank down so that the water just barely touched her nose, letting the warmth seep into and through her skin. "I wanted to talk to you," the Gym Leader admitted, watching with wary eyes as May twisted to grab one of the buckets and filled it with water. "About...what happened."

May quickly looked at her, nearly spilling all the contents of the bucket out again, and frowned. "About what? This morning?" the young girl asked, raising to dump the bucket over herself, wetting down her hair.

Misty waited, hesitating, before shrugging. "Somewhat. What was going on with you two? What'd you do?"

"Nothing was going on, Ash told you that. I didn't do anything to anyone!" May said, getting a skeptical look from Misty. The elder of the two changed suddenly, her face softening, and she rushed over to take the younger's hands into her own.

"I didn't mean it like that." she replied gently, and gave a faint smile, "You can tell me anything. I'm just worried about you two."

Pausing, May pulled away and fell back into the water, spitting out the bit she had sucked into her mouth in surprise. Choking slightly, she shook her head. "No, no, Nothing is going on with me, nothing is going on with Ash, he didn't do anything, nothing-"

She couldn't help but notice the sudden emphasis being placed on the last run-in sentence, and the sudden statement that the teenager was innocent of anything she thought he had been up to. Noting it in her mind, Misty put her hands up in surrender. "Are you sure? You seem rather excited for someone that has nothing on her mind."

"I..." May glanced away uncertainly. It didn't seem like any harm could come from telling her about what happened; quite contrary, it looked like Misty could help, being older then both Ash and her. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she dove into telling the redhead of the previous night's doings.

"_He did what!_" Misty looked livid, her eyes blazing. Panicked, May quickly blocked her from getting out, going pale at the thought of what the woman was about to do.

"Misty, no, don't yell at him!" May fell over when Misty rushed past, shouldering past her to get out of the steaming pool. Sitting back on her heels, she yelled at the retreating back, "You weren't there! You don't know what happened!"

The Gym Leader froze, giving the girl extra time. "He didn't do anything wrong! When I started feeling strange, Ash..." She smiled thinking back on it. "...he asked, 'Do you want to stop?' and was as nice as he could be when I started getting upset with messing everything up and then refused to go an farther because he didn't think it right to or something."

"So you didn't get that far." May looked confused for a moment, before she finally nodded. Passively, Misty tilted her head, eyes narrowed. Blushing lightly, the brunette sunk so that the water reached her chin, and wrapped her thin arms around herself.

"Why are you angry?" she asked. Misty rubbed her eyes, scowling, and sighed.

"Because of the trouble you two could get into for such antics. Don't you know that?" Misty replied. May shook her head.

"We wouldn't get in trouble." She crawled out of the pool, shivering when the air hit her wet body, and twisted the water out of her hair. Misty frowned deeply.

"You could though! You could-" May spun around to glare at her; it was one of the first gestures of actual anger Misty had seen directed toward herself, and was unsettling in the least.

"I know what could happen, I'm not a dunce! Just because you consider it 'trouble' doesn't mean I do!" Misty was rocked back on her heels at the intensity of the anger that was in the younger girl. "You don't understand me at all!"

"Wait! May, don't!" The redhead scrambled to get out of the pool and followed the teenager that stormed back into the building. She slid to a stop when May put one of the cotton robes on, tying the belt as she walked. "You can't-"

"Shut up!" the hysterical girl snapped, tears shining in her eyes, "You...you don't know!" The few woman stripping in the locker room stared in mild curiosity, as May disappeared out of the side door to the front street. Misty sighed, her shoulders sagging, and went to find both her clothes and May's; there was no point in having two nearly naked teenagers running around town.

- - -

May ran on, half blinded, everything a misted over blur to her unfocused eyes. She felt the heat of rage running through her veins, and the pain of just yelling at someone that was supposed to be her friend quite fresh. She ignored the looks she was getting from people; some of them surprised, others offended, and even more of them scandalized.

"Woah there! What's the hurry?" The startled voice of a woman interrupted May's thoughts as she bounded into someone, bouncing back and falling to the pavement. Looking up, she peered meekly at the large woman, not bothering to cover up where her robe had fallen open. "Oh, you poor distressed little daisy!"

Swooping down on her with more grace then May thought a person of her size should be able to manage, the stranger carefully fixed the article of clothing and patted her on the shoulder. "Now, where are you off to? Why are you crying?"

"I'm looking for someone." May had to think a minute to find the correct word to use. "I'm looking for my mate."

The woman blinked, and she knew what had came out of her mouth had been wrong by most people's definitions. "My boyfriend," she corrected, blushing fiercely in embarrassment.

"Now that sounds just about right." Helping the trembling girl up, the stranger smiled soothingly. "Perhaps I can help you. What's he look like?"

May looked around warily, wondering whether it was wise to be describing Ash to a random person when it had been said they needed to keep a low profile. The woman's sincere face made the choice for her; quietly May spit out a quick description. "Hm...yes, that does sound familiar. A Pokemon Trainer, by chance?" At the confirming nod, she clapped. "Aha, yes...I believe I know where he went to, then. By the looks of that robe, you were only a few feet away from him to begin with. Come on, I'll walk you there."

Being led back toward the springs, May stayed in step beside the large woman, silently staring down at the ground. Even before they rounded the building to approach the door, May felt the stinging again; biting her lip and blinking, she held back the flow.

Beaming, the woman banged on the door with a big fist. The door cracked open, and a blue eye stared out. "Yes?" he asked.

"Is there a young man in there, about yeh high with black hair?" she questioned, and the eye disappeared. The two waited with held breath, until the eye returned.

"Yes, there is. Should I-" May quickly thanked the woman, and pulled the door open wider. She slipped in before either of them could react, and there were shouts of protests from the men that were in the room.

"May, you shouldn't be in here!" She slipped and fell backwards into the waiting arms of the boy that had been behind her. May felt the bubble that was the anxiety of the fight with her only human female friend rise back up at the sight of the subject, but she didn't have time to think on it as Ash put a hand against the back of her head and pull her over so that she was facing him, her face hidden against his shoulder. "What is going on with you?"

"I needed to see you." Ash gave the glaring audience an apologetic look as he bent to lift the shaking girl up, walking the short distance to the front of the spring. "I'm sorry, this is just making your life harder trying to get to Kanto."

"Forget it. What happened?" Ash asked gently, setting her down so she could sit on the stone ledge that ran around the spring. He crouched down in front of her, his hands on her knees. May looked toward the barrier, and broke down crying. She pointed with a shaking hand.

"I was talking to Misty in that spring and she was asking questions and..." Telling him exactly how the argument went, she watched as his eyes widened. "She's doesn't know! She doesn't understand at all!"

"About what?" It took a bit of effort not to want to strangle the redhead at that moment. Ash nearly overbalanced when May launched off of her perch on the ledge, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Vanika and Silvanus. They are _perfect_ with each other." She smiled when he finally dropped down to the ground, disentangling from her to get readjusted, and then let her climb back onto his lap to sit in the warm embrace. "'Together forever, bound as one in body and soul...' It's just that, I dunno, that's what I want to have with you."

"If it wasn't so cute, I'd say you're getting too mushy on me," Ash teased, getting a small giggle out of the young girl. "Don't-"

Just as he was about to continue, they both turned to look toward the doors into the locker room, where one of the older men stood leaning against the door jam. "I'm sorry, we are keeping you from using the spring-" May started.

"No, no, it is quite alright." he said, as he looked in and nodded, "Actually, take as long as you need. Just give a knock when you want out..."

"Give a-" Before either of them could continue, he stepped back and shut the door with a loud bang. Ash blinked, unsure of whether to go try to find him or to stay put. "That was really, really strange."

"I hope they aren't angry. We are taking up their time and all." Smiling then, Ash shook his head.

"No, it'll be fine. If they are so ready to lock us in, I don't think they are in a great hurry." Looking toward the steaming water, he frowned. "Anyway...don't worry about Misty and Brock. They both are just overprotective is all."

"Why?" she asked. Ash had to think over his answer, not quite sure of it himself, but came to one he was happy with giving to the baffled girl.

"They're probably worried I'm going to do something that'll get us all in trouble." he replied simply, getting a wide eyed look from May, "How long were you in the other spring?"

The answer reminded May strongly of Misty's words - "Because of the trouble you two could get into for such antics." - and it brought a frown to her pink lips. "Not that long. I didn't get to do much except sit for a minute, drench myself, and get yelled at," May admitted.

Ash's eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened around her waist. The thought that he was trying to snap her in half ran through her mind, before he relaxed once again. "Well, how about we just use this one then? Just the two of us."

May stayed quiet for a moment, digesting the suggestion, and smiled. "Uh-huh, okay, I'd like that." She more then happily let him guide her around the rock wall that separated the small ledge she had previously sat on and over to the 'stairs' that disappeared into the water's depths.

"I _cannot_ believe you actually ran around in nothing but _that_," Ash said, trying to untie the thin piece of cloth that was the belt, helping her get the tight knot out. May laughed, quickly putting a hand down to stop him.

"Nothing wrong with that?" He shook his head.

"Nothing, there isn't..it usually isn't advised though, considering the types that can be walking about."

"...? Types?" May looked at him curiously. "What are types?"

"Well, eh...just, never mind them." Ash glanced away uncomfortably, before grinning again. "Now, stop squirming so I can try to fix this mess you've made of this belt-"

"Oh no, no," May said, her voice as innocently wicked as she could get it. She poked a finger into his bare chest. "_You're_ first this time."

"Who would have known, you have a raunchy side to you!" Ash snickered, getting another one of the sweet smiles that was always a welcomed sight. With a few quick movements, all the remaining articles of clothing were removed and tossed out of the danger of getting wet. "Happy?"

With a quick nod, May shrugged out of her robe, letting the thing slither to the ground to lay in a heap, and leaped into the water, disregarding the stairs that were only inches from her. "It's like at home!" she said, responding to the curious look she was getting from Ash as he climbed in after her. "Except this is really, really, really warm."

"You used to do shallow dives in the lake?" Amazed, he pulled her back over so that they were together; arm around her to keep her in one place; at that moment, it seemed at if May was moving about more then staying put.

She snuggled in closer. "Sometimes. Usually only after it rained and it was deeper," May answered absentmindedly.

They fell silent, neither needing to say anything to fill the time; just relaxing in the soothing water was enough. Just as Ash actually started nodding off, his eyes heavily closed and chin down, May prodded him in the side. Reflexively jerking, he blinked sleepily, lips turned down in a frown. "What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"Wha?" Ash had to think a moment, before it became clear what she was talking about. "Oh, I dunno. Probably stay another night then move on to another town, since we both rather made a big act up just now."

"Closer to Kanto?" Chewing on his lip thoughtfully, Ash wondered if the look on her face could be any more heartbreaking then it already was.

"I don't know. We'll see how things go," he said vaguely, honestly not sure himself. They'd have to find out later.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Dangerous Enemy

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Oh yeah, hey all:D I'm back with Chapter Thirteen for ya! I must say, I hate having school work on weekends. -- I have to write a story for English 11, so I decided to make part of Chapter 17 that, but I'll go into that when we get there.

JAA was so much fun! Except for the waiting in line for over an hour part. And the not being able to get meh plushies and the hat I wanted part. But overall, it was fun. - I got a picture taken with Pikachu, and got a new Pokemon promo card.

As for the story (now that I'm done rambling), I really don't care for how some of the scenes work, yet at the same time I do like how they work. o.0 I did the phone call differently in this chapter then in the previous chapter because, while in the one between Ash and May was longer and there wasn't much to explain about what they were doing, this one is between two characters that I felt needed their own time. Until I figure out a way that I can interlock it and have all the details intact, then it's going to be this way. XD

Warning: Eh, none for this chapter.

- Chapter Thirteen: Dangerous Enemy -

Misty blanched, amazed; the once quiet city was swarming with life, most of the inhabitants excited and out trying to get a chance to see the newest 'idol' of Nara. "How could you two manage to blow your own covers this easily, this quickly?" she asked darkly, turning to look at her friends.

Ash shrugged, bent over the map they had to figure out a way they could get out before anyone found their location. "Well, I didn't really do anything. Then again, getting locked up in the hot spring isn't exactly 'didn't do anything,' is it?" he asked, looking up briefly at both her and Brock.

"Wasn't it just this morning we were discussing how you get in trouble all the time?" the other man pointed out wryly, a corner of his mouth quirking up. Ash rolled his eyes, pawing at him playfully. "Speaking of trouble though...where is the other Trouble Maker?"

"Hm?" The dark-haired boy looked up, frowning. "Actually, I'm not sure. May just went out after the whole thing at the spring and said she'd be back when she was done with what she wanted to do. Didn't say where she was going or what for."

"This isn't getting much better then. With the way everyone is right now knowing you're around here, and with what happened earlier, she could be a walking target." Misty shut the curtains again, pressing her forehead against the back of her hands and sighed. "We're asking for serious trouble here. I'm thinking we should go find her, but then we'll be in even bigger trouble if you're seen."

Ash bit his lip nervously, watching his two best friends worriedly. "Yeah, with so many people knowing she's with me and all, not to mention the scene May made before that...who knows who noticed?"

Exchanging glances, they groaned; they surely didn't have much time to go on a search.

- - -

"Oh, you must be that girl I walked over to the springs!" May smiled, nodding, as the woman turned away from the stacks of merchandise she had been sorting through and rearranging. "You gave those fellows a good fright! It isn't often they have young ladies barging their ways into the men's locker rooms!"

Laughing, she nodded again. "They didn't seem too happy I was in there, though they did let us use the spring," she said, getting a confused look from her new friend.

"Us, dear? Who else went in with you?"

"That guy I was looking for. I was with Ash!" The woman stared for several seconds, before looking around warily to see if anyone had stopped to listen in. She had a hunch that whatever they were about to say could get one or both of them put in the spotlight very quickly.

"This..boy. He...he wouldn't happen to be the one that just won the tournament, is he?" she asked quietly, lowering her voice and getting closer to the blinking girl.

"Um, yes he is. Why-" May yelped when, frantically, the woman grabbed her by the arms and moved in close, startling her. "What-"

"Listen closely to what I am saying. He...and you too, most likely...are being sought after. You need to get back to where you are staying, quickly. Do not speak to anyone on the way. Do not stop for anyone either. Right now is a dangerous time." The fearful eyes and the tight grip merely scared the confused girl, as she was pushed in the direction of one of the less crowded streets. "If you do anything though, it is _to stay by that boy's side!_ Do not wonder away from him. You need the protection."

"But-"

"Go!" May was sent on her way, disappearing into the throng of people that surrounded the small vending booth. She crept along, looking about curiously and trying to listen for some sign of what was happening. With all of the different voices mangling, she could only catch snippets of conversations, mostly trivial things that had nothing to do with the situation at hand...or so it seemed.

"Isn't it exciting! Here, in our home!" the squealing voice caught May's attention, and she peered up over people's shoulders to see the group of girls that was chirping ahead, giggling at whatever they where discussing. "He's supposed to be really cute, though I personally have never seen even a picture. I didn't get to watch any of the battles."

"You missed out!" May cut through the crowd, ducking around various men and woman, edging past a woman that was pushing a stroller, and went into step behind the group of four, craning her neck so she'd appear to be looking for someone – and not listening to their conversations. "I saw them, and...oh my." The girl speaking appeared to go faint, and she sighed dramatically. "The battles...they are so wonderful, every year. So fierce. I remember the last few years that one lady had won, every time. Supposedly she had decided to stop competing and to let a new person take her spot as Master."

"Thankfully," the first one said, getting smiles from the others. They laughed. May tilted her head, frowning; she didn't like them very much. Who where they talking about? What woman?

"I hope to run into him though, the new one..." the third girl sighed dreamily, "what's his name? It was supposed to be this really strange one."

"Pfft." The second waved a hand in the air. "It is. It's the only bad thing I've seen so far. Ashura. Sounds like a girl's name to me."

May went tense, as the fourth shook her head. "So? Girl's name or not, I wonder if he's single."

"Who knows." It was the first girl again. "At that interview they did, no one would give a clear answer about that. There's talk around town though that there's some girl that he's with, besides the one from the Kanto League."

"Well, if that is true..." The third one made a face. "She's most likely some stuck up brat that doesn't know how good she's got it."

Biting her lip, May stepped to the side, her back against the wall of a building, and let the crowd surge past. It was the first time she'd actually heard someone talk in such a way with her own ears, and it didn't please her at all. Frowning, she continued on her way, her head down.

When she saw the welcomed sight of the hotel, she hastened her footsteps to get inside quicker. The closer she got, though, the more uneasy she became. May turned to regard the hordes warily.

Just as she was about to go into the building, she let out a small scream when someone roughly pulled her back out of the doorway. May bit down when whoever it was put a hand against her mouth, breaking skin. The person – a man, she could tell from the yelping – jumped back, letting go in the meantime.

Taking her chance, May made a mad dash for the door. Just as she was about to reach the open doorway, there was an abrupt, searing pain. She sank to the ground, fainted before her knees even touched the sidewalk.

- - -

"What...Open those!" Ash jumped up, having to hop over his pokemon to get to the red head as she pulled up the curtains, then the windows, worry etched on her face. They all had heard it; the startled cries, the painful yells, and then the silence that said more then words could have. He leaned out, peering down at the ground two floors below; he paled. "May...May!"

"What happened-" Brock was cut off as the dark haired boy hurriedly shoved him out of the way, making a grab for the belt that had the six poke balls attached – one being empty, of course – and putting it on.

"Trouble," he said vaguely, and swung the door open. Misty followed on his heels, as they headed down stairs, past the main counter, and to the wide sliding glass doors.

"We should come up with a plan..." Misty started, trailing off at the look she got from the teenager. Ash quickly glanced at her, his wide eyes speaking for him, as he stepped up to let the doors slide open. Before he could even make a move to look around, there was a loud roar as an engine was started, and a car sped out from beside the hotel, along with a second.

While the first headed towards the exit, the second did a sharp turn to stop in front of the door, blocking the way out. Whoever was sitting in the passenger seat opened the door, and stood up, one hand resting on the handle. Ash and Misty exchanged glances; he looked oddly familiar.

"You that Ketchum kid?" He stepped toward them, blocking Ash from making the escape he had been planning on, and leaned down to stare him in the face. Misty didn't even utter a word, as Ash stared silently, eyes narrowed.

"What did you do to her?" the teenager asked, getting a laugh in response. "Why did-"

"Shut your mouth and listen closely. If you want that _maiden_ to be unharmed, you will step down." Flipping a business card to him, the stranger smirked at Ash, went to climb back into his vehicle, and paused to look at the pair with one foot still on the ground. "If you try to stop us, you will regret it."

Shoulders slumped, Ash stood still, eyes downcast and tearing up as he forced himself to not lunge after the stranger. When he heard the squeal of the tires, he turned slowly to face Misty, looking at the card in his hand. In small print, it read _I know._

"Who knows what?" the redhead asked, reading it from her position next to him. Ash glared at her, as Misty recoiled, realizing just how angry the teenager was – and how unstable.

"How in hell should I know who did this and what about?" Pocketing the card, Ash stormed back upstairs. "Whoever it is though..."

"Please, don't over-react-" Misty had to run to catch up, fearing what the younger of them was about to do. "Getting upset-"

"Don't over-react. Don't get upset. What am i supposed to do! Sit here and act as if nothing is wrong? The two things that are most important to me are at stake here, and you tell me not to 'over-react'? Pfft."

"Oh, Ash, come on..." Misty followed him back into the room, and looked pleadingly at Brock as he rose. "Could you help? He won't see reason."

"I see reason all right. I see a reason to _murder_ whoever is behind this." Ash scooped up his pokedex, pressing buttons and flipping open the top that would turn it into a phone. "Gwen, I need some help from you again."

Brock sighed and shook his head. "We'll be fighting a losing battle if we try to stop him." he concluded, "Pikachu, do me a favor and get the other pokemon prepared for in case a battle is coming."

The yellow creature did a small salute, paw up to his head in respect, and he bounded off. Neither gym leader knew what to do, or what to say, as the third group member chattered on the phone. It was getting hard to ignore, as Ash's voice rose. "Yes, I'm sure!"

He quieted again – apparently Gwen had said something that had calmed the raging boy – and he looked around wearily. "I can't back down and let someone else do everything for me. I told her I'd protect her, and I'm going to do just that."

Misty and Brock exchanged glances, before peering at the pacing Trainer-turned-Master. "No. No. I understand. Yes, just set it up and I'll give a whole speech thing." There was a short pause, as he closed his eyes and took a breath. "I don't know what I'll say, but I can make it up as I go along. Thank you again."

Shutting it off, Ash looked at them meekly. "If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to get ready for."

- - -

Blinking to ease the pain the bright flashing caused, Ash ignored the hushed whispering and forced himself to straighten, and to look around at the sea of faces. He knew he had to thank Gwen later; she had managed to get the town to let him use its small auditorium to speak to the public, and had everything set up that was needed.

The whispers lessened, until all eyes and ears were focused on the podium on the stage and the boy behind it. "I am sorry for calling for this so abruptly," Ash said, wringing his hands, "but it couldn't wait until later, because this...this...is about something that happened today, only a few hours ago. Someone that is very dear to me has been kidnapped, and I don't know who or what is behind it."

It amazed him how quiet the audience was being, very few of them even whispering. Ash continued, his vision turning blurry; he blinked to correct it. "Not too long ago I had made the promise that I would do anything I had to, to keep her safe and sound. I will not let this go until I get her back out of harm's way. I would and will do anything I have to, to do so."

"I do know, that whoever ordered this does not like me winning the tournament, which has been made clear because I was told to step down, to give up my title. I don't know what to do, not right now. I probably would agree to in a heartbeat if I had to, but I want to avoid it if I can."

Ash rubbed the back of his hands across his eyes, trying to keep from crying in front of so many people, and took a deep breath. Some of the reporters warily asked questions, mainly about who he thought might be to blame and what the plans were; all of them were answered with a dull voice, none having an answer besides 'No' or 'I don't know.'

The meeting ended grimly and quickly, with the distressed teenager pleading to the unknown perpetrator to contact him before most of the people filed out through the multiple exits. Stepping off the stage, Ash sank down onto the stairs, his face in his hands. _I won't let them win._

- - -

His green eyes scanning over the horizon, Silvanus glided above the treetops, wings outspread and feet tucked close to his body. There was the odd movement farther out when a wandering merchant or even the odd Pokemon Trainer was taking the road that led to Wicker City.

The sight of the people brought up a flicker of pain, and he drifted down in the gloom, ignoring the stings and prodding of the branches as he floated past. Something felt wrong; it was similar to that of the one he got whenever someone intruded on his home, yet it was different at the same time. **V_anika, can you hear me?_**

**_Loud and clear._ **The voice of his female companion sounded worried. **_Are you getting the same thing? I think something has happened._**

**_So do I_, **Silvanus replied, hastily landing at the edge of the clearing, **_We need to go find them, and find out what._**

_**I was under the impression that you refused to step foot out of this forest.**_ The irony in the female's voice only caused a bitter anger to boil in the male. **_Or have you decided you rather be near by so you can play sentinel once again?_**

_**I am just wanting to make sure nothing has occurred. I'm not moving out.**_ The gruff answer didn't get past Vanika. She could tell it was a front, and chose her words carefully.

_**As you say. Shall we go now?**_

- - -

"...please, please! I beg of you, get in touch with me, whoever you are! I don't want this to end with someone suffering!" The television switched off abruptly, and May jumped; she turned her glare to the men keeping guard. The affects it could have otherwise had was lost, as they merely snickered at the sight. They knew that being tied and gagged, she couldn't do anything to them.

"Angry that we shut off your frie...oh, wait. I forgot." A snide voice said, "You aren't friends! You are _lovers! _Isn't that right, princess?"

May narrowed her eyes, biting the cloth ball that was wedged in her mouth. Laughing, the woman behind the voice quietly passed the guards, kneeling down in front of the girl. Lips tilted in a smirk, she tilted her head. "Are you in wuv? Are you in wuv with that idiot?"

She laughed again, hearing the muffled, angry screams as May squirmed, trying to lash out. Thoughtfully, she smiled, and pulled out a cellphone. "I do believe I shall oblige him. A little phone call couldn't hurt."

Ignoring the scowls and the tantrum the prisoner was having, she tapped in a number, and shoved the thing in her ear. "Yes, hello, I would like...yes, thank you."

May went still, watching as seconds passed by, waiting for the buzz that was another voice on the phone. Finally, it started. "Hello, Mr. Ketchum! I just finished watching you make a fool out of yourself begging to me on live TV!"

Once again enticed, May started yelling again, the sounds severely muffled and sounding like nothing more then gibberish. "Yes sir, you would be right to assume that! I am very wounded at being called such a thing though, as I am very quite a nice lady once you get to know me," she said, her laughter sounding fake.

Shooting May a sharp look, she answered what was most likely an order from the other side of the line. "Oh, but then I wouldn't have you, how's it put, over a barrel? You know it, and I know it, I've got you right where it hurts, and you've no way to get out of it. Drop the title, or..." A slow, little sneer played on her face, "your very loud, very upset snowflake is going to become very much silent. I'd hate to have to ruin such a pretty voice."

"Aha, that! I have my sources, young man, and I will not be disclosing them to someone the likes of you. If you would like to have a...face to face meeting, go to the springs tonight. Midnight sound good? Good." Hanging up, she stood. "I am in amazement that you could tolerate such a stubborn man such as him. Surely it must be frustrating!"

Feeling satisfaction as May jerked her head to the side, ignoring the statement, she stepped past the goons. "Get her ready for tonight. We go out at 11."

- - -

"Piikachuuu." The yellow rodent's ears drooped as the phone rang, and Ash rolled over to look at it. The teenager had collapsed into bed immediately after returning to the hotel room, not wanting to be bothered and feeling a heavy weight the likes of which he hadn't felt in a long while. Letting the ring continue, he stared, before reaching over and picking up the receiver.

"What?" he asked, exasperated, before sitting bolt upright at the greeting he received. "You! You're the bitch that ordered that attack!"

Growling, Ash slammed a fist into the mattress in frustration. "Some lady you are. Dammit, give me back my girlfriend!" Feeling an intense hatred at that moment, he looked at Pikachu, who made a small, worried squeak. He went pale at the mention of 'becoming very much silent,' not sure whether that meant just slitting the missing girl's vocal cords or killing her. Not wanting to find out, he yelled into the phone, "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT HER?"

Resignedly , Ash agreed to the meeting, and dropped the phone when he heard the tell tale sign of being hung up on. "I can't let them get away with this. It ends now."

- - -


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Trainer Battle

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: 14! Ya'll catching up with the chapter I'm working on. XD I'm only on the end of 17/beginning of 18. Bah. This plotline was pretty quick to be tied up, though I'm hoping another one I have my eye on that'll pop up will take a bit longer to resolve and figure out. And that one will be a tad different then all of the current ones. ;D

Warning: None for this here lovely chapter. :D

- Chapter Fourteen: Trainer Battle -

"Ash, come on! This is insane! You shouldn't be going out for this alone!" Misty pointed out, getting a shrug from the flustered boy. He reset each poke ball, putting them in a specific order on his belt. "They could have you outnumbered."

"Fine by me. If they want to be cowards who can only confront a kid in groups, so be it." Ash smiled then, noting the look Misty gave him, and shook his head. "We'll be fine."

"Just...don't do anything irrational, all right? Brock and I don't want to see anything happen to...to you or to May." _Well, coulda fooled me_, Ash thought, stepping out of the room.

"Look who you're talking to." As the door swung shut, Misty sank down to sit on the bed, her hand up to her mouth.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

- - -

Outside, it was warm, the air still. Uncomfortably, Ash looked around, feeling uneasy from the lack of people. He knew no one would be around the springs; no one in their right minds would go when it was so dark out. "Pikachu, if anything happens..." Ash started, prompting the Pokemon to lift his head up.

"Chu?"

"If anything happens...go find Misty or Brock. Or go get the police, whichever is better." Pikachu patted him on the shoulder in a silent agreement, and hunched back down into his backpack, staying out of sight of any spying eyes. His anger returned when he saw the dark forms that were milling around the front of the spring, only two of them staying still.

It was only when he was within a couple feet of them could he actually see who was who; there were four of them scrambling to get in line behind the two that had been watching him. Ash ignored them, assuming they were merely guards made to protect their leader, and turned to the woman and...

Ash blanched, disbelieving that she had had the gall to bring May along, the girl sitting on the ground unharmed, and looking none the worse for wear. Wide green eyes stared up at him, unblinking. "Aha, so I finally get to meet the little boy that stole away my family's chance at fame," the woman beside her said, arms folded across her chest.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked, confusion evident by the look on his face. "I didn't do anything-"

"You poor, unknowing little child." she said softly, a gleam appearing in her eyes, "Do you not recognize some things about me? Come closer, if you must."

May shook her head frantically, catching the baffled boy's attention, and he took a step forward automatically. "Quiet, you silly girl!" the woman snarled.

"You...you look like that woman I battled." Ash stared at her. She laughed loudly.

"As I should. She is my sister, my blood. She was my family's only chance at fame and fortune, and you took it from her without a second thought." She grinned. "And I'm here to take it back."

"I understand why you are mad at me," Ash said, "But why must you involve...involve..."

Smirking, she knelt down beside May, putting one arm about her shoulders to keep her from moving around, and used her free hand to move the girl's head, tilting it back. "Why do I involve your love bunny here? That's simple, and I told you already. What is a good way to force someone to do what you want? Do what hurts them the most."

Abruptly, she drew her fist back and brought it hard against May's cheek. Ash moved to stop the assault, getting within two feet of her when one of her protectors stopped him, gun pressed against his throat. She rose and turned to regard him, smiling. "Hurts, doesn't it?" she remarked, "Not being able to stop what is happening...get back."

May struggled back to her sitting position, blinking painfully. Ash pulled his hat down to shield his eyes, taking a few shuffles back, embarrassment and anger flaring inside him; he could feel the tears that were starting to fall as the hopelessness of the situation weighed heavily on him. He didn't want either of the two females to see just how weak he was at that moment. "What do you want?" he asked, taking a shuddering breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"Your title." Ash's shoulders slumped, and he looked away. Scowling, he quickly shrugged, and Pikachu jumped out. "What the..."

"I won my title then..." Ash released the rest of his team, and he snapped his head up, his anger evident in the movement, "and I will win back my love, now! Let's do this right, you want the title, battle me in your sister's place. You win, you get the title."

"And if I lose?"

He smiled then. "Either way, win or lose, you let May go."

Lips pursed, she put her hands on her hips. "I'm not a Pokemon Trainer. I don't have any, nor do any of my friends here have any. How about we arrange a date for a battle, you and my sister, one on one?" she suggested lightly.

"Fine by me. Name the day and place." Ash looked at May, who was trying to speak through the gag and only making incoherent noises. Her kidnapper quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised, Ketchum. I'd of thought you'd sic your team there on us this minute. Alright then, how's this. We'll have it five days from now, at Nara Pass. That is perfect for you, is it not?"

"I don't have my Pokemon attack people that are unarmed." Ash found his statement ironic, as the goons each held a weapon; he was actually just worried they would hurt someone. "Nara Pass is good for me."

"Wonderful. We will see you there, Pokemon Master Ash Ketchum." It was said as she pulled May to her feet. As she went to get in the car that waited, she turned once again to the teenager. "I never gave you my name. It is Monica."

"If you lay a finger on her-"

"Calm down, kid." Monica waved a hand absently. "I need your girlfriend intact, at least for now. Don't worry; we'll take good care of her." Smirking, she ducked into the car after getting her hostage in.

"How do I keep managing to let them out of my grasp?" Ash mumbled, sinking to the ground, shoulders shaking, his palms down, fingers spread. "I can't let her go that long, not with them."

"Pikapi..." Ash shook his head.

"Five days...five more days..."

- - -

"We're going! Now!" Brock stretched, staring sleepily as Ash ran about gathering items and articles of clothing that had been scattered and tossing them into his backpack.

"Going? Where?" the older man asked, creeping out of bed. Ash slammed a fist against the wall that separated them from Misty, hoping to wake her up without having to barge in. "What happened Ash?"

Barking an order to Pikachu that Misty need to be retrieved, he sat down wearily. "I saw her," Ash replied, as his pokemon returned with the redhead. "I saw the...the woman that has May."

Carefully, he explained the details of the meeting, ignoring the gasps and the idle comments. In the end, Ash looked curiously at the pair. "That means we need to be ready for them at Nara Pass? Are you sure you can do another battle with her so soon?" Misty asked.

"I don't know, but I have to. I can't even get near them, not without getting shot a couple dozen times, this is my only chance!" Ash sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I need to take it. I want to see May safe."

"He's right." Brock glanced Ash, then Misty. "If we want to get this over with, we need to get to that pass. And now would be a good time to start."

- - -

Vanika could feel that they were close; jumping from forest to forest, cave to cave, flying only at night when human eyes wouldn't be prying, it was taking too long for her liking. It was also taking its toll on Silvanus, who regardless of how far they got, was irritable.

**_They're here somewhere. Someplace close, near._ **Silvanus snorted, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. Vanika's voice did nothing to comfort the male reptile; he scowled at her.

**_They had better be, or someone will be getting a new hole._** Vanika went silent.

- - -

Nara Pass. It was the only thing that connected Kanto to its eastern sibling, the continent of Nara. It was nothing but rock walls leading a trainer from one to the other, a straight path that cut across the long expanses.

The wind whistled through the narrow open-topped tunnel, as the group of four awaited the arrival of their opponents. "I hope he didn't change his mind. That would be all too unfortunate for you," Monica said, "being disregarded like that by someone who supposedly cares for you."

"He'll be here! Ash would never break one of his promises!" May yelled, struggling against the ropes that bound her. She wanted to get at the horrible sisters, to tear at them like the Hunters that attacked Silvanus and Vanika. The thought of the two dragons brought May back from her rage, and she sat back. She wondered where they were at, and how they were doing. _Probably better then I am..._

"That's what they all say." The little sister grinned, cracking her knuckles. "I do hope he shows up. I wanna take another stab at that bastard."

"You'll get your wish soon enough." With a smirk, Monica pointed toward Nara. "I can hear them now, in fact."

- - -

The trip to the pass was, at best, depressing. Misty and Brock stayed several steps behind the fuming teenage boy for most of the time, not wanting to find out if the next thing they would say or do would once again set him off. Ever sense the late night talk with Monica, Ash acted more like a shadow of his usual self; rather then laughing and smiling like normal, the days were spent with him glaring at anything that moved, scowling. The only exception was when he would start sobbing, turning away to hide the fact, covering his face with either his hands or his hat.

"They must be around here somewhere," the Water Gym leader said, looking around at the rock walls. She stepped back when Ash jerked his head up to stare down the path, his eyes narrowed.

"Probably up ahead," he said, surprising his two friends; it was the first words they had heard out of him that hadn't been dripping with frustration. He shooed Pikachu off, the mouse jumping off of his shoulder to walk alongside him. "I want you two to stay out of it."

"What?" they asked, confusion leaking into their voices. Ash turned to look at them stonily.

"I said stay out of it. This is between me and them. I don't want anyone else involved." Seeing the woman that had caused such fury in him enter his line of vision finally, Ash scowled. "At least you kept to the agreement."

"Did you believe I would not?" Monica asked, smiling, and waved a hand to indicate May. "And I made sure to bring your toy with."

"_Toy?_ She's not a toy." Ash looked to the woman that stood next to Monica; she had the same look as she had the day of the fateful Pokemon Battle in Transia City. "Well, are you ready?"

She rubbed her hands together. "Yes I am. I thought we might make things a little more...interesting, this time around."

"How?" Ash folded his arms, chin up, as she stepped forward, daring to poke him in the chest forcefully.

"How about we have a Trainer Battle, rather then a Pokemon one?" she asked, getting a strange look from him. Her smile faded into a sour snarl. "Just you and me, one on one, against each other. No middle man, no one fighting for us."

"Why don't you just say you want a fist fight, and stop making it sound 'nice'," Ash said, wondering what he had managed to get himself into. A shout from the side stopped him from agreeing immediately; May was bouncing up and down, yelling at him.

"No! Ash, don't do it!" she called out, "I don't-"

"Shut up," Monica hissed, snapping a hand across the squirming girl's face. May continued to yell, ignoring the stinging that started from the strike. Ash looked between his opponent and his girlfriend, clearly conflicted on what he was going to do.

"I don't care." Lifting an eyebrow, she laughed.

"Good, Ketchum. I, Cynthia, declare this battle started!" she said, bringing her fist forward in a punch. Ash ducked, feeling pain erupt when Cynthia shifted her weight onto one foot, and brought the other to get him under the chin. His teeth grinding together, Ash stumbled back. "Not such a good start for you."

"Doesn't mean I'm about to lose," he shot back, initiating his own attack, starting the chaos that was the Trainer Battle.

Misty stared in disbelief, watching the pair beat on each other relentlessly, one getting more and more hurt as time progressed. "We can't let this go on!" she said.

"We have to. Ash told us to leave it to him." Brock replied, putting a hand on her shoulder, "They made this too personal for us to interfere."

"But..."

- - -

Vanika could hear the sounds of human voices, only about six of them, and it lifted her spirits. **_There! We found them!_**

**_That might not be such a good thing,_** Silvanus pointed out when they could see the action, and the violence that was ensuing. **_This is what we come to see? Slaughter? We could have seen that at home._**

**_Look over there!_** Vanika pointed a claw to the side, and Silvanus' eyes were drawn to the hunched over form that was May. When his link turned a murky red in anger, Vanika floated down to get closer and to be able to hear what was occurring below them. Alighting on a overhang, she peeked over the edge. Her male companion setting down next to her matched her position.

"Getting tired yet?" Cynthia asked snidely, snickering as Ash picked himself up. He shook his head wearily.

"Not yet. I can't let you win," he said, wiping off the blood that was flowing from his bleeding nose. _Not with so much at stake here._

Vanika blinked. **_What had happened?_** Ash jumped, narrowly dodging Cynthia's kick and blocking her punch, when he heard her speak up. He hadn't expected the female to show up.

**_Yes. Please, do tell us what you've done._** The painful yelp he heard indicated that Silvanus had received a smack from Vanika. May turned around, looking for her parents curiously, just as Misty and Brock were.

"What? What are you fools looking for?" Monica asked, wrinkling her nose. Ash smiled widely, the hopelessness that had started creeping up again vanishing; having the dragons around gave him an advantage that neither woman knew about yet.

"Oh, nothing!" he said. _On the count of three, Vanika. One, two..._ Ash jumped forward, grabbing Cynthia's hair and yanking back, pulling her along and into a precarious position. _Now!_

With a roar, Vanika dove down off the perch, claws outstretched. Cynthia screamed along with her sister, as the creature swooped, missing her face by inches. "Understand, that I don't wish to harm anyone any farther," Ash remarked, as Silvanus slithered out into the open, "though I can't say the same of them. Now, you will listen, and you will listen good. You are going to go back to Nara. You are going to stay there. You will leave me and my family alone. Clear?"

When it looked like Monica was about to refuse, Silvanus used his tail to trip her up, getting what appeared to be a smirk. "Fine, we'll leave. Just take these freaks and your little bitch and get away from us!" she shrieked, scrambling to get away from the sharp claws that were slowly edging toward her.

On cue, Vanika and Silvanus returned to their perch, going still, not even saying anything with the Mind Link. Fearfully, Cynthia and Monica rushed past the trio, not looking back. Ash laughed. "Thanks, you just paid them back tenfold with that stunt," he said, as the pair returned, their links colored from amusement, looking smug. "Now..."

Ignoring the aches he was feeling, Ash knelt down and untied the ropes, mentally preparing himself for the attack he knew was coming. Once freed, May spun around to latch onto the bleeding teenage boy. "Oh, I told you not to get into a fight with her. Now look what happened," she said, carefully touching her fingertips against the bruise that was starting under one of his eyes.

"I'll live." Ash looked away, smiling in embarrassment when he felt the warning sting that had been all too common over the past five days. "May...I was...I...was so worried. It scared me knowing what could happen..."

May noticed how he still didn't look at her, and how he kept bending over to play with the dirt, or fiddled with his hat. "You always do that when you cry, don't you Ash?" she asked, "You did that that other night, and you are doing it now."

Without warning, she took his face into her hands, and forced him to look at her straight on; by then the blood had stopped flowing, and most what had dried on was flaking off. Ash turned red, the reason for his fidgeting apparent. "I had hoped you'd never see me like this," he admitted.

"But I want to." Having no other choice, he sank into the embrace that May gave him, not noticing when their friends, and even Pikachu, Vanika, and Silvanus, left them alone. "You always see me upset and crying, and you always help me. Why can't I help you?"

"I don't know. I just...don't know. I don't even want to think at the moment." Ash laughed softly, feeling happier then he had in days. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. You're the one that got beat up." She looked in the direction everyone had went. "They left us."

"We can catch up later."

- - -

**_Have you changed your mind yet?_** Vanika asked, glancing over at Silvanus. He was laying calmly at her side, watching their daughter as she carefully helped the Pokemon Master patch himself up, getting the blood off, getting medicine put on all the cuts and scrapes, and even getting the odd word or two in.

He turned away only when the pair collapsed together, positive that he didn't want to watch for much longer. **_I'm unsure. I suppose we could always give it a try, and go back if it doesn't work._**

The female smiled. She knew Silvanus would give in eventually.

- - -


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Welcome Home

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Yes, so in this chapter we meet the wonderful people of Kanto. I'm rather iffy on how some of the characters are acting in this chapter (and even the next one), but we'll see how it goes. :)

As for my absence, I've been busy. I just took the SATs today, and have finals at school this upcoming week. x.x; I seriously need a vacation right now. Ugh. Thank god after finals is summer break.

Warning: None for this here lovely chapter. :D

- Chapter Fifteen: Welcome Home -

"This is it." Ash smiled when May ran ahead, her eyes wide. The town hadn't changed at all during the months of his absence; however, it looked very much different to the girl he was trying to keep caught up with, as the last time she had seen it was ten years back.

Not having to worry about either Silvanus or Vanika – both of which were hiding somewhere – nor about Brock and Misty, both of which were back in their respective homes in Pewter City and Cerulean City, he was able to follow May around, pointing out different houses and places. "Ash, I wanna see your house!" she said, jumping into his arms, getting swung as he spun on his heels. "Can we go to your house?"

"We have to anyway. I _live_ there." Ash realized at that moment that he would have to explain why he had May with him; he also realized he had to do it without giving away who she was related to. Pushing back the thought that it might be harder then he thought, he opened the gate into the front yard, and let May enter first.

As she peered around at the garden his mother kept up, Ash went to find Delia, to warn her of the new presence. "Mom!" he called, looking around.

"Oh, my little boy!" Before he knew it, he had her hugging him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "How did you do?"

"I did fine. I won the tournament!" Ash said to grins from Delia. Hearing the squeals of delight that floated in from outside, he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of a way to break it to the woman in front of him that her only child wasn't alone. "Um, Mom, there is something I have to tell you..."

"Ash, I like the flowers! Are there any in here? There should be!" May bounded into the house, and caught him around the neck, squeezing to keep on. Wincing, Ash carefully pulled her off, holding her at arms length. Noticing the discomfort that she was causing in him, she settled down, and looked at him, then Delia.

"Who is this?" Delia asked curiously. Ash sighed, and smiled, wrapping a hand around May's wrist.

"That's what I was about to tell you. This is May, um...she's my girlfriend." Delia stared at him.

"Ah, that is lovely!" Turning to the confused girl, Delia smiled. "So, how far is it? How far have you gone?" she asked, leading May into the kitchen.

"Mom!" Ash cried, following her. Delia laughed lightly; May looked between them, clearly oblivious to the meaning of the older woman's words.

"I'm being serious. Because you know he's my baby boy, you do have to be _gentle_..." she continued, her amusement showing on her face.

"MOM! Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Glaring at Pikachu – who was snickering at him - Ash regretted letting May anywhere near the giggling woman, and he pointedly made sure they weren't next to each other when they sat at the kitchen table. "Could you get off that aspect, and move on?"

"Fine, fine. I can give you that," she said, waving off the complaints from her son. "So, how'd you two match up?"

Before Ash could stop her, May jumped up, leaning on the table. "He was helping me with some bad men that were trying to hurt Silvanus and Vanika, and then after that we were at the lake taking a-"

"Swim!" Quickly pulling May down onto his lap, Ash put a hand over her mouth, forcing a polite smile. He didn't need his mother hearing about the day when May followed him when he was taking a bath; the old woman already had enough ammo against him as it was. "We had went swimming."

The brunette turned to stare at him questioningly, asking him something he couldn't hear through his hand. "Who are Vanika and Silvanus?" Delia asked.

That was a question Ash knew was safe to give an answer to without causing any more troubles. "Friends," he said offhandedly, making a face when he felt May lick his palm, and let go, rubbing the spit off with a growl. She looked satisfied being freed of his grip. "You'll probably meet them someday soon."

Nodding thoughtfully, Delia tapped a fingernail on the tabletop. "We should probably invite Sam over. I know how much you like seeing him when you're home."

Thinking quick, Ash looked at May, who remained seated on his lap, tracing lines into the wood table. "Um. Sure, maybe. I'll call Professor Oak later." He made it a point to put emphasis on _Professor Oak_.

May turned once again, showing him green eyes that brimmed with sadness and unease. "Then again, I think it might be better to wait a few days at least. I'm tired and I'm sure May wants to get settled before running off seeing people she doesn't re...know."

"Hm." Deciding against commenting on the odd choice of words, Delia nodded. "Well, I was just making dinner. Why don't you two go clean up so we can eat!"

With a smile, Ash let May slid off before standing. "That'd be nice. I'm starved."

- - -

The evening went by quickly. Most of it was spent with retellings of the adventures that occurred in Nara, some of them reworded or totally omitted; Ash didn't care to explain how he had broken down time and time again in the last leg of the trip, or about what really had occurred between him and the girl that was sitting next to him.

All too soon, they heard the sound of a clock announcing how late it was getting, hitting on 1 AM. "I think I need to turn in for the night." With a sorry smile, Delia was up, giving Ash, then May, a tight hug. "Don't get into trouble now."

"Mmhm." Ash watched her go upstairs, before finally relaxing, closing his eyes. "May, do me a favor."

"Huh?" she asked, tilting her head and blinking. He laughed; the motion was more like a Pokemon's reaction then a humans. "What do you want me to do?"

"Never, ever, mention what happened at the lake or at the hotel to my mom." Ash said, his eyes clouding over, "I don't think...she needs to know about that. Not at the moment anyway."

"Why's that?" May yawned, snuggling closer to him, resting against his shoulder. "She was nice."

"Er, yes. It's just...not...something one runs off to tell their parents about. 'Hi mom! Hi dad! I just screwed the hell out of this girl here! Aren't you proud!'" he said wryly, his voice turning playful. May giggled quietly, and Ash noticed how much slower she was moving, all of them followed by a yawn or a sigh. As his sleepy pokemon ran about switching off the lights, he picked her up, cradled as he heavily walked upstairs.

Pikachu jumped into bed, taking his place at the end, As Ash set her on the bed that had been his all the years he had called the house his home, May grabbed hold of his shirt. "Ash," she said quietly, earning a worried look from him, "I don't want to meet him yet."

"Who?" he asked, putting a hand over her smaller one. "Professor Oak?" May nodded, and Ash gave her a comforting smile; that smile alone could do wonders.

"I...can't. Yet." Leaning over, he gave her a kiss on the cheek, moving to plant another one on her lips.

"I know, love. That's why I'm trying to buy some time before we start calling the army in." May grinned feebly.

"You never did that before."

"What?"

"Called me that." Ash blinked, before it dawned on him what she was talking about, and he laughed and shook his head.

"I just hadn't felt like it until now."

"You just wanted to save your pride."

"...you've been talking to Misty." May faked an innocent look, and Ash nearly believed it, she did it so well. "Don't you give me that!"

She pulled on his shirt again when Ash went to get up. "You're going to stay in here, right?" she questioned.

Ash held still, letting the question sink into his mind. "Well," he started slowly, "I really _can't_. My bed isn't big enough for both of us, and a certain someones has taken it over." May frowned.

"But-" He pointed toward the wall that was to the left of them.

"If you need to, you can find me in the room next to this one. I'm not going all that far. And you have Pikachu here, so you won't be alone in a strange house." The loose grip she still had on him broke.

"Better be." Ash laughed, seeing her crack a smile again, and nodded. With a final kiss, Ash exited quickly, letting the door shut behind him with a snap. _Misty is wrong,_ he thought, silently pulling his shirt off and draping it over the foot board then decided to remove his jeans when he was safely in the other room. _She was just over thinking things._

Climbing into bed, he stared at the ceiling when he laid down. _But then..._ The conversation he had had with the redhead prior to her splitting off from the group filtered back, hauntingly clear in his sleepy mind.

- - -

"You do know," Misty said, looking at Ash thoughtfully, "I really wonder about you sometimes."

Staring blankly, he turned to her, backpack in hand. "How so? What's to wonder about?" he asked.

He heard her make a low whistle with her teeth as she thought over how to put what she was thinking into words. "I mean...I wonder about how you manage to wind up with someone like May, when most of Nara would die to speak to you alone."

Looking at the subject of the conversation, who was helping Brock pack up the cooking gear, Ash shook his head. "I don't get it." he admitted, "What're you on about?"

"Ash, don't take this the wrong way," she started, putting her hands up in a sign of surrender, "but...you know, she's kinda latchy. And it's like she needs your attention like we all need water."

"Well, after all these run-ins with people that do nothing but bad, a little clinging is rather expected, isn't it? She had no one but Vanika and Silvanus around since she was a kid." Misty's expression turned sad.

"But this isn't 'a little clinging.' You two are never more then a few feet from each other, especially since we've entered Kanto. At least in Nara, May wondered off to go look around and meet more people besides us. Here, she's staying attached to you at all times." Ash crossed his arms, his expression saying more then words could; he wasn't happy.

"And? Misty, try imagining this her way. Kanto is as strange to her as Nara was to us, if not more so then us because we had an idea of what to expect. May's followed through and has probably been scared to death through the whole thing."

The gym leader rose an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"She basically said it when we were back in Nara, before that whole thing with Monica and Cynthia happened!" Ash scowled. "Said that Kanto scared her, she didn't know what was here, still doesn't, not really. Can you really blame her for trying to stay close, when everything here is so much different then what's she's grown up with?"

"Ash, I'm just trying to help you. I'm just saying, you have to be careful. Eventually you won't be able to always come to her rescue or be there to play the part of the comforting boyfriend, not when you have that title back in Nara. Regardless of what Gwen says, you will have times when you have to travel between here and there, and unless you plan on constantly having her go with you, then-"

"We'll be fine."

"You know I worry."

"I know. And I appreciate the thought, but...leave it alone. You couldn't convince me that letting myself get too attached was a bad idea before, and you can't convince me that something may be wrong with it now." Misty smiled wanly at him.

"No chance at all?" she asked. Ash shook his head.

"None."

- - -

Banishing the thought, Ash sat up and leaned back against the headboard, his eyes shut. He didn't want to linger on possibilities that hadn't made themselves yet, and definitely didn't want What Ifs to start interfering with his life.

The irony of the situation struck him when Ash looked around, actually feeling _lonely_ without having the girl in the next room with him. A wry smile curled his lips as he considered trying to figure out how they both could manage to stay in his old room.

It didn't take long for a voice to pipe up in his head. **_You could always just stay in that room. I'm sure she'll be along eventually. In fact, I think your Pikachu is getting irritated and will probably make her go find you,_** Vanika's soft voice said.

"Really now?" he replied, imagining what the poor creature was going through at that moment. Just as the image entered his mind, Ash heard the tell-tale creak of a door opening, then the sound of little footsteps as his Pokemon bolted into the room, looking miffed.

"Pikapika, chuuu!" the mouse hissed, glaring toward the doorway. Within a few seconds Ash saw May poke her head in shyly, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Are you harassing each other now?" Ash asked, keeping his voice lightly taunting. Girl and Pokemon looked at each other, then at him. "Get your ass in here so I can get some sleep."

**_I told you,_ **the feminine voice snickered, growing faint before the link finally shut down. Shaking his head, Ash watched patiently as May shuffled in, and pulled her down into his embrace. "Didn't I say you could come get me if you wanted?" he whispered.

She nodded, looking up with bright eyes. Making her room to lay down, Ash kept an arm around her, using the other to help move the sheets. Cuddling against him, May sighed happily. Forcing himself to keep from smiling, Ash finally drifted off to sleep.

- - -

A day went by, then another, and another. Ash could only be amazed; regardless of when she went to bed, May was one of the first ones up. Every morning when he finally padded downstairs, Delia and she would be outside to tend to the gardens.

The fifth day was no exception. Just as Ash was getting up, stretching out to get out the stiffness, May walked into the bedroom, rubbing at her cheek. He rose an eyebrow; she was moving from one foot to the other, apparently antsy and bursting to tell him something. "Are you waiting for an invitation?" Ash asked dryly, getting a strained smile in return.

"Your mom said Professor Oak called." The reason for her unease opened up. Sympathetically, Ash rose, and cupped her pale face between his hands, the gentle touch being enough to make her relax. "She said he's starting to question why you won't see him. And now she's asking why she can't mention I'm here."

A sense of ill falling over him, Ash looked away. "We're going to need to tell her the truth if we want to get through this with few problems." he said, his voice low, "We probably should have done that when we first got here."

May closed her eyes, keeping her hand on his, and nodded. "And what about him?" she asked vaguely.

As much as Ash wanted to see the man that had given him his first pokemon, he didn't want to hurt May anymore then she already had been; thinking on it, he found it didn't surprise him how odd she was acting, with so much going on that conflicted with everything she had grown used to, it was amazing she was still sane. "I'm unsure." Ash admitted reluctantly, "but, what do you want to do? If you want to wait a little while longer, I can try to get Mom to stall him a bit more, or I can just go over to his lab myself to keep him from coming over here."

May stayed silent, frustration evident in her eyes, and shook her head. "Which one is he?"

He paused to figure out what was meant by the question, before smiling. "Your grandfather."

**_You remember, _**Silvanus said. May glanced toward the window, feeling the presence of both creatures, and she fell to her knees, bringing Ash down with her.

"I want to." she said, "I really do, but..." May swallowed, fighting to keep her composure. "I'm scared, Ash."

"Hey, what happened to that girl from the forest? The one that would face a man, even if he was carrying a gun, and would beat the life out of him?" Pressing his forehead against hers, their noses touched, and May smiled. "You know where she is, hm?"

May laughed, and the sound of it relieved Ash greatly as he carefully forced her onto her back. She stared at him. "And for someone so innocent, she certainly does have a lewd streak running through her," he continued, following it with a soft bite to her ear.

It brought out a yell of surprise, which he stifled with a kiss. **_Couldn't you two wait until we are _gone?**, two voices remarked, bringing with it embarrassment for both Ash and May.

"You never complained in Nara," Ash said. He could almost see the silver creature rolling his eyes. **_You weren't exactly this bold about it there either,_** Silvanus retorted. They could hear Vanika laughing, her mirth rubbing off on them. Letting May sit up, Ash got to his feet to help her up. "I'd better return that phone call soon, so he doesn't think I'm purposely avoiding him."

"Don't want to be mean!" As he was about to go find the telephone, May jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

Ash tripped forward, clumsily planting his feet to keep from falling. He grinned then, whipping around to hug her. "I'm just happy to see you acting like yourself again."

- - -

"So, when will I be able to see them?" Delia asked after the lengthy explanation of not only May's past in Pallet, but of Vanika and Silvanus. "I will, won't I?"

"Only if they come out of hiding," May said. She looked around, not feeling that the pair were anywhere around. "I don't think they're here now though."

"Pfft. Silvanus will probably pop out of a closet to give you a heart attack." Ash waved a hand, and smiled. "I think they know not to make themselves obvious, at least not yet. Not until we get a hold of her...original...family."

"And you don't think it a good idea to just ring them all up at once."

"No." May shook her head, a haunted look crossing over her features. "Not yet."

"That's actually why I've been stalling on inviting Professor Oak over. With our luck, he'd probably recognize her regardless of how long ago it was when she ran away." Ash shrugged hopelessly. "We'll find out soon, at any rate. I just hope he can understand why he shouldn't tell Gary or anyone else for that matter about this."

When the doorbell rang, May looked at Delia, then Ash, nervously. As the former went to answer the door, the latter squeezed her hand soothingly, and she felt something sharp touch her thighs. Pulling the table cloth up revealed two silver eyes staring up at her, then a green pair joining them. **_We'll be right here,_** Vanika said.

"You'll be alright," Ash whispered into her ear, as they heard Professor Oak's voice float in from the front door, and then footsteps. Just as he entered with Delia, Vanika and Silvanus vanished from view. "Professor!"

"Ash!" the old man yelled, clapping a hand against the young man's shoulder, and smiled. "Who is this young lady? A new traveling companion?"

May stared at him dully, jumping between running and hiding and getting the reunion over with. Deciding on an comfortable middle, she stood and planted herself behind Ash, putting her arms around his neck. **_Don't hide from your past, _**Silvanus' harsher voice piped up, scolding her.

"I'm not," she murmured, "I'm just holding it off for a moment." Steeling herself for a blow, May stepped away from Ash, approaching the baffled man that stood waiting for an answer. Delia backed away, motioning to Ash that she would be in the living room, and dashed off. "Professor Oak..."

"Yes?" he asked, clearly wondering what was happening. Ash could only shrug; it wasn't his place to give the answers. May took a deep breath.

"...No. You're Grandpa," she said. Ash would have laughed had the situation not been so serious. Oak's face had changed from one of confusion, to one of surprise, as he took a step backwards. One word came to mind: priceless.

"'Grandpa'?" Once the initial reaction wore down, he looked thoughtfully at her, as if he was trying to puzzle out who she was. May bounced on the balls of her feet, waiting patiently for him to finish the glancing inspection. Finally, the professor's eyes lit up, and he scooped her into a hug. "Oh! May! How did you survive all this time? How did you get back?"

By then, she was beaming. Getting away from Oak, May raced over and flung herself at Ash, who had to quickly lean forward to keep from toppling over. "Ash. I came with him," May replied. Again, all Ash could do is smile.

"Let's go sit with Mom. We've got a story, and you'll want to be sitting down when we tell it to you."

- - -

"That is amazing." Professor Oak said, "Just amazing. In all my life, I've never seen creatures such as those. It's a myth come to life."

"Well, they aren't just a myth anymore. Actually...the Reality is better then the Fantasy." Ash could see the older man was twitching to see the pair, and a glance at May revealed that she knew it too.

_Vanika,_ he thought tentatively, getting the feeling that the female had turned her attention to him immediately. Ash was uncomfortably aware of Silvanus doing the same, but angrily. _Could you come out for awhile?_

**_Why?_**, Silvanus asked, **_To be shown off?_** In his mind, Ash could see Vanika turn around and smack the male with her tail, the silver creature growling. Apparently, May saw the same thing as she frowned at him.

**_To introduce ourselves,_** Vanika said, carefully slinking out from behind the couch. Delia's eyes widened, along with the professor's; to not only hear but see one of the dragons was a great shock. In an almost human-like motion, she put a claw up to shake hands. **_It is good to see our d...foster daughter's birth grandfather._**

"It's an honour," Oak replied as the green creature moved onto Delia, shaking hand-and-claw with her. **_Ridiculous,_** Silvanus sighed, agilely stepping out from the kitchen, **_Hello._** The last part was said reluctantly.

"How could you manage to..." Oak started, getting cut off when Vanika started laughing, the sound coming out nasally. **_How could we raise a human child? Not easily, I assure you!_**

May made a face at the idle comment, and even pretended to kick the male when Silvanus purposely added his own two cents; **_Not easy! You understate it! A little nightmare, that's what she is. Can't even get her to learn basic mathematics!_**

"Would you stop making me look bad! I learned everything else!" May complained. **_You've also been learning a couple new things lately,_** Vanika said, amusement colouring her Mind-Link, as she discreetly looked at Ash. Both teenagers turned a dark red. Delia laughed, bopping a hand up and down to ease their embarrassment.

"We need some...oh, who could that be?" she started for the door, when Ash narrowed his eyes. Silvanus, then Vanika, had both turned to regard the front door as their links turned murky. A quick glance out of the window showed who was pounding on the door; he paled.

"May...May, I think now would be a good time to, um...go do that thing you were talking about," he said. She turned away from her grandfather, who had started telling her about the lab and how much it had changed since she was little, and gave Ash a strange look.

"What? I didn't say-" They saw Delia jump back when Ash's rival stormed into the house. Ash slapped a hand across his face. "Who's that?"

"GRAMPS! Why didn't you tell me you would be coming over here today? We were supposed to start work on that new pokemon...what the hell?" Looking at them, his hands on his hips, was Gary Oak.

- - -


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Healing Touch

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Aha...this chapter. The first big bang of the Major Plot Line #4 (Family). Of course MPL#4 isn't over this chapter, it stretches until the last one if the story goes as I hope it will. As it is, I realize Gary is very OOC compared to what happened in the anime, but I imagine he could turn out the way he is in here.

As for the emphasis I put on this second adult scene, there is a reason for it. Besides the humor brought in by the two later scenes with Delia (which I know is probably overkill, but seeing as she seems to like to embarrass Ash in the show and probably the manga, I imagine she would use all the ammo she could get on them. XD), it is actually quite a big plot point for the MPL#1 (AshxMay), and for another one of the multiple Pls, unlike the first one. I won't tell you which PL though. ;p I'll let you come up with your own conclusions, though it might not be what you expect. Har. And yes, I realize this is probably no better then the first one, I'll be surprised if it isn't worse, but meh. Practice makes perfect.

As for some things that happen...ehhhh...refer to my AN's after the chapter. I'll spare you all my spoiler comments until then. XD (Yes! My first Post-Chapter notes!)

Warning: Sex scene in here! Enjoy the horribly written thing. Also, as with the first time, if anyone feels like it is too much for FFN, review and tell me. Or e-mail me. Or something. I can take it out or water it down, it's not that big a deal, I'm not going to flip out.

- Chapter Sixteen: Healing Touch -

"What the hell is that?" Gary asked, staring incredulously at Vanika and Silvanus. "Gramps, what's going on here?"

Pikachu's ears folded back. **_Moronic human,_** Silvanus hissed, crouching down and glaring at the unfamiliar man. Ash glanced over; May had her eyes narrowed, her hands clenched into fists. "Gary," Oak said sharply, "you're to respect them."

"What? Like they understand anything I'm doing anyway?" **_We understand more then you think, dolt._** Vanika's retort made Ash laugh when Gary jumped. "What kind of freak is this?"

May bolted up, pulling back before Ash could try to stop her. "They aren't freaks!" she snapped, drawing Gary's attention, "You don't know anything about them."

"Hm. Who is this lovely little lady that is standing before me?" Gary asked, turning his back on the snarling reptiles to regard May thoughtfully. She glared at him. "Rather touchy about them, aren't you? Rather odd, considering how...well, they're monsters."

"Take that back," May said, ignoring Ash's and Professor Oak's attempts at keeping her calm. She shook her head.

"May-" Delia started, before Gary's head snapped to the side to look at her critically. The name rung a bell inside of him.

"That...name." He folded his arms across his chest, and leaned forward, forcing May back a step as he stared at her. "Well, I never dreamed I'd ever see you again, little sister. Have fun making our family miserable?"

"Gary, leave her alone," Oak ordered, getting a sneer from his grandson. Gary advanced on May, as she slowly backed away from him, edging around to be closer to Vanika and Silvanus.

"No!" Pointing at the brown-haired girl angrily, Gary scowled. "It's your fault our family fell apart! Mom pined for months because of you, and then Dad stopped visiting just so he wouldn't have to see it."

"My fault?" Thinking back on it, May remembered that their parents constantly argued, even before she left; in fact, that was why she left. "They already had issues before."

"Gary, you're being irrational. You were kids-" Ash pitched in. Gary waved it off.

"Stay out of it! This has nothing to do with a loser like you!" his rival snapped at him. May's face twisted into a grimace. "You playing little independent bitch didn't help them. And you caused them grief, for what? Where the hell've you been anyway?"

"If you must know," she said, "I've been in Nara, staying with Vanika and Silvanus." Instantly, she looked toward the two dragons sitting beside Gary and her. His eyes narrowed.

"With...these..._things_? You caused Mom nothing but heartache to run off and live with some wanna-be Charizards?" Ash wondered why Silvanus wasn't standing up for himself, and why Vanika was also taking the verbal insults. "Why'd you come back? You should have known you wouldn't get a warm welcome."

"I didn't come back to see you, or even Grandpa...or Mom or Dad. I came, because..." Uncertainty clouded her for a minute, before she smiled grimly. "I came because I wanted to."

Gary let out a bark of a laugh. "This surely wasn't just for kicks. It's too far of a trip between Nara and here for that." Looking at Ash, he frowned, before the situation started looking even odder then it previously had. "Don't tell me you are...with...this idiot?"

"He's not an idiot." Regardless of 10 years apart, May and Gary still sounded like siblings; it amazed Ash that it was possible.

"Yeah, you're right...that was being too kind."

"Gary, stop it!" Oak said, as Ash jumped to get to May. The young man could see the attack long before it started; she had the same look on her face as on the day they met, when Silvanus was taunting the intruders and she barged in to keep him from being shot. Pikachu angrily stood, tail straight out, cheeks sparking.

"You are a bastard!" May yelled, running at Gary. Ash grabbed her arms, tightening his grip when she squirmed to get away, giving his Pokemon a warning look to keep him from joining in the fray.

"I'm amazed. So I have a deranged sister, not just one with bad tastes." Pulling her back, Ash moved so that he was holding her, whispering into her ear to try to sooth the anger that was bubbling over. "And then you can't even keep your own temper in check. You have to be talked out of it. Why don't you do everyone a favor and go off yourself."

There was silence, as May stared at him unwaveringly, the anger fading from her expression. Crying out, she broke away from Ash, running up the stairs and out of sight. As they heard a door slam Vanika scampered upstairs to try to salvage the situation, leaving the others to stare at each other.

"You son of a bitch." Ash grabbed the front of Gary's shirt, slamming him into a wall. "Why would you go off and pick a fight with her like that? She just got here a few days ago and has been fretting about whether or not she wanted to attempt to contact you and Professor Oak, and here you are acting like a damned fool to try to make her feel bad!"

Delia made a move to protest, but stopped when she saw Oak shaking his head, putting a hand up to stop her. "She deserves it." Gary hissed, "I meant every word."

"Dammit Gary! She was only six! How could May have known what would happen if she ran off?" Mentally telling Silvanus to go check on Vanika and May, Ash quickly looked over to see the silver creature slouch off. "You don't even know what has happened between then and now. I'll tell you something right now, that girl has been through hell the last couple months, and I've had to watch her suffer more times then I should have had to."

Letting go, Ash turned on his heel to go find the family upstairs. Before Gary could let out a snide remark, Ash cut him off at the start. "Now, thanks to you, I have to _try_ to fix this mess you've made of her. I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted to go hide out in that forest again!"

With a wink to Pikachu, he started upstairs. Slowly, he glanced back over his shoulder, smiling when he saw the electric attack light up the room. _Paybacks can be a bitch._

- - -

Carefully cracking the door open, Ash peeked in to see if it was safe to enter. May was sprawled out, crying into his pillow, Vanika at her side and Silvanus at her feet. _Odd. I would have thought she'd go in the other room._

When he quietly entered and shut the door, Silvanus looked back at him dully. **_Surely you showed that human not to mess with us,_** the dragon said, drawing Vanika's attention to Ash. Running a hand through his hair wearily, he looked away. "I gave him an earful, at the least. And Pikachu gave him a taste of what it feels like to have a Near Death Experience."

The male reptile, in his own way, smiled evilly, wings expanding in delight. **_It is time for us to remove ourselves,_** Vanika remarked, giving May one last pat on the back before jumping off the side of the bed. Silvanus looked at Ash, making it clear without saying anything that he wasn't happy and wanted revenge, and followed suit.

Waiting to make sure they had time to get away, Ash carefully sat down on the edge of the bed. May moved her head to be able to look at him with one eye when she felt the mattress sink down from the added weight, sniffling. "That was...so cold." she said, "How can someone be so cruel as to say...to say..."

"That's the way he is. I remember, and you saw it yourself, that he does tend to insult those he doesn't like. When we were kids it used to be petty stuff, we'd have a go at each other and see who could beat the other. Over the years, he did get a bit nicer, though it seems his switch from being a Trainer to being a...observer, I guess, has just made him even worse then before." Ash rubbed her shoulders gently as he spoke. May propped herself up on her elbows, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. "I wouldn't take it too personally. He's not worth getting worked up over."

"But he's not the only one!" Seeing the inquisitive look Ash gave her, May frowned, remembering that she had never mentioned the incident as more tears fell. She rubbed them off with her hand as she told him about what she'd heard walking through town before being captured by Monica.

"...a stuck up brat. You might act like a brat, but you aren't stuck up!" he teased, getting a small, forced laugh out of May. It was a start, at least. "They just don't know any better."

May rolled over, sitting up to latch onto him tightly. Ash nuzzled her, eliciting a brief smile from the teary teenager. "They don't know any better." he repeated quietly, "They don't know what a sweet, wonderful girl you are!"

"I never meant to hurt anyone," May mumbled into his shirt. Ash could feel her trembling in his embrace. She looked at him sadly.

"I know you didn't. And so will Gary, and so will everyone else if they know what's good for them." Ash gently put his head on top of hers, one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders. "You still have your parents left to find, and I've a hunch they'll probably not be angry."

"I can't look for them right now." May closed her eyes, relaxing when Ash started rocking her gently back and forth, the two of them moving at the same time. It didn't take long for her to start getting antsy; she peeked up at Ash, who appeared focused on his thoughts more then on what was happening around him.

Seeing her chance to catch him off guard, she glanced toward the door, listening closely to make sure no one was near the door. Smiling impishly, May unfastened the dazed man's belt, carefully getting the button loose with a quick twitch of her hand; all the years of protecting the forest with Vanika and Silvanus was paying off in the most unlikely way.

When it was apparent Ash hadn't noticed what she was doing, she stealthily edged her hand in, trying to keep from stabbing him with her fingernails. "Gah! What the hell!" he yelped, his eyes widening, "May, what _are_ you doing?"

May laughed when Ash squirmed, his face flushed. "Playing,"she said.

She didn't know it was possible for someone to turn such a bright red in such a short time. Ash pulled a hand across his face, in disbelief that he had a girlfriend that was bold enough to pull a stunt like the one she was doing at that moment; yet, it somehow didn't surprise him. "Would it have killed you to say 'Aaaash, I'm about to shove my hand down your pants, I hope you don't mind!'?" he asked, mimicking her voice.

May smiled. "That's not fun though."

"Fun...Dammit, I'll show you fun!" Ash growled as they tumbled over, nearly falling off the bed. They both glanced at each other, then at the floor.

"You're right, this bed is small. Switch rooms?" she asked innocently. Ash shook his head, tapping on her wrist.

"No. Now remove thy hand before someone gets hurt, 'someone' being me." With a giggle, May obeyed. "Muuuuch better."

"Admit it, you liked it." Ash bit down on her bottom lip, silencing the taunting he was getting from the snickering girl. "Mmmm."

"Admit it, you liked it," he mocked, grabbing May's wrists when she pulled on his shirt. He gave her a patient smile. "Not so fast. We're not exactly cramped for time."

May pouted. "Ash!" she whined, "Would you stop stalling?"

With a laugh, he eased her over, away from their precarious place at the edge of the bed. "I'm not." Ash started, "I've got an adrenaline rush like you wouldn't believe, and I'm near hurting here."

Pausing, he leaned across her to click the light into it's second brightness setting; enough to be able to see, but not enough to blind them. Capturing most of May's attention with a kiss, he gently slid his hands under the back of her dress. "I'm just wanting to take things a bit slow," he continued.

She squirmed to try to help be rid of the article of clothing, putting her arms up so it could be pulled off. Almost as quickly, he shed his t-shirt and jeans. May slid her arms around Ash's neck loosely, unsure of what exactly she was to do.

They both twitched when they heard footsteps outside, and looked at each other nervously. "If she comes in here, I'm a dead man," Ash whispered, getting a confused look from May.

When they heard a door down the hall shut loudly, they relaxed, smiling at each other. With one last lingering look toward the door – Ash knew Pikachu would be prowling about, wondering what his master was up to and why he was kept out – the Pokemon Master gave her a quick peck on the nose, moving to cover her mouth. "How far do you want to go?" he asked, nuzzling her.

May closed her eyes again, covering her mouth to stifle the ecstatic cry she let out when Ash deftly unclipped one of her last remaining bits of clothing left and licked the exposed flesh in a single movement. She knew he was still expecting an answer to his question, and nodded. "As far," she breathed, "as you want to go."

Delicately, Ash placed his hands at her hips, hooking his thumbs around the edges of her panties, tugging on them playfully when she twisted to look at him. It amused him that someone could bend themselves into positions like the one she was in; her legs were pinned down by Ash, so she could only bend at the waist, and was also twisting around so that only one shoulder was against the mattress, and her head was up, tilted to the side. The only way she could keep her balance was having one arm behind her, palm down.

He moved when May started sitting up, and she pulled her legs up to crouch in front of him, hunching her shoulders over and looking at him from underneath her bangs. It was when his curiosity finally overtook him that Ash leaned forward and she pounced at him, flinging her arms around him, pressing her lips against his. Shocked, he fell over backwards, the frenzy behind the actions startling him; he hadn't expected it coming from a girl that was so ignorant to what she was messing with.

Putting a hand under Ash's chin to make him raise up without breaking the lock, May slowly edged backwards on her knees. Settling back down, her head on the pillow again, she raised her hips, tightening her grip on him to keep from falling. Taking the hint, he pulled the offending clothing off – which was apparent it was bugging her by the look on her face – along with his own. "I'm such a fool for not taking care of that earlier, aren't I?" Ash mused, getting a giggle out of May.

Smiling ruefully, he continued on with the gentle touches, savoring the delighted yelps and moans as time pressed on. Eventually, they looked at each other, the tension from waiting and drawing out their night finally peaking, the torment they both were feeling reflected in their eyes and movements.

Taking hold of her hand, their fingers twined together, he leaned forward. "Careful now, May," he whispered into her ear.

She winced as pain erupted, tears leaking out of her eyes. She had to remind herself to not try to snap her legs together, tolerating the discomfort, focusing instead on the soothing voice. "It hurts," May said, pressing her forehead against his shoulder, suppressing the sobs that were trying to surface, her breathing labored.

She felt something drip onto her cheek, and she put a hand to it. Then there was another drip, then another. It was then she noticed the pain was quickly fading; blinking, May gave Ash a confused look, her eyes wide, before quickly putting her arms around him, her head on his shoulder. Smiling through the tears, Ash laid down, feeling just as tired as May looked. "Are you alright?" he asked when she gingerly climbed over to be in front of him, wanting to be cuddled.

"I'm fine." May replied, beaming, "I'm not hurt!" The exclamation made him laugh, but it also reminded him of how exhausted they both had to be after such excitement. He gently pulled her hair back to kiss her on the cheek. She gave him a sleepy smile, curling up into a ball within the safety of his embrace, not even acknowledging when Ash edged the blanket up to cover them both.

- - -

The sound of knocking at the door was what finally roused Ash to wake up. Looking at the alarm clock, he rubbed his groggy eyes, amazed at how late it was getting into the morning. Scrambling to pick up the clothes that were scattered around, he dropped them into a pile beside the bed were it couldn't be seen from the door. "Time to get up, sleepyheads!" Delia sang as she opened the door to peer in.

"Mom! No!" He ducked down to hide behind the bed, dropping to his knees on the floor as he quickly pushed the blanket back up to cover May; she had, at some point during the night, kicked them off, and he didn't think it too bright to make it apparent that she wasn't wearing a stitch. "I'm not dressed!"

Pikachu appeared from around the foot board, ears perked up. "Oh! I'm sorry, Ash. I thought you both were still asleep," he heard Delia apologize, though he didn't see the knowing look she acquired. When the door clicked shut, Ash sank down and sighed. Waiting until he couldn't hear footsteps any longer, he stood to get fresh clothes out, and pulled them on.

"I really need my own place if this keeps up. That was too close a call for my liking. My god, how would I explain away the both of us being naked and exhausted, and then try to get away without being humiliated? Gah." Pikachu smirked, knowing exactly what had happened by the reaction, and from its own senses the night before. "What are you grinning at?"

"Chuuuu!" Ash swatted at the yellow rodent, before bending down to tie his shoes. "Pikachuuu..."

"Shut up, I am not." Pikachu dove out of the way as Ash sent a badly aimed kick his way. Frowning, he pulled his cap off its perch with one hand and grabbed his jacket with the other. Making sure to give May a quick peck on the cheek – cringing when she moved, mumbling under her breath - he went out into the hall, shutting the door quietly. As he put his jacket on, carefully edging down the stairs, the smell of pancakes wafted up from the kitchen. "Ohhhhhh."

"I made a late breakfast, since you finally decided to get up!" Delia said as he entered, and she turned her head to regard him thoughtfully. Ash started fidgeting when she didn't turn back around, playing with his hat and with the silverware. "So, what kept you in bed for so long? You're normally up by eight."

"We had a late night," he mumbled under his breath, kicking Pikachu when the creature snickered. Delia's lips twitched.

"What kept you so late?" she asked delicately, nearly smiling when Ash gave her a deer in headlights look.

"Um...well..." Putting her hands on her hips, Delia spun around to look at him. "Ah..."

"Come on, do I really look like I was born yesterday? I already know what really went on." Crossing her arms, Delia laughed when Ash visibly wilted, his face turning a bright red as he quickly shoved his hat onto his head and pulled it down at an angle. "What, you thought I would stay oblivious to the fact that my son is grown up?"

"I was hoping you'd stay oblivious to _that_." The thought that Delia knew about the whole thing was embarrassing at best. Ash glanced away unhappily. "I need to go out for awhile. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Wait, you need breakfast-"

"I'll eat later," he called to her, already out the front door. Unleashing Charizard, Ash clambered onto the dragon-like Pokemon's back, holding onto the lengthy neck to keep from slipping off. "We need to go over to Pewter City, Charizard. Think you can make it?"

Letting out a great roar, Charizard spread his wings to their full extent, craning his head to look confidently at his trainer. Giving the fire-type the go-ahead, Ash tightened his grip, feeling Charizard pushing off the ground and gliding into the air. "Piiikkapi?"

"I just need to talk to Brock is all...in person."

- - -

Stretching out, May clasped her hands together above her head, her back arching. The sleepiness vanished when she looked around, squinting at how bright it was. "Ash?" she said, noticing the room was empty of the other presence.

Hearing movements downstairs, she clambered out of bed and scooped up her discarded clothes. "I need something else to wear," she said softly, wondering if it was really a good idea to run to the other room the way she was.

Deciding against it, she put the pile into the clothes hamper – she had a feeling running around in them again would also set off alarms - and shuffled over to the dresser. Pulling it open, she peered at the folded up shirts, unsure of whether or not Ash would appreciate her going through his things. _Would he mind me borrowing his clothes?_, she thought, picking out a short sleeved t-shirt with a Pikachu on the front.

After she wiggled into it – and stared in amazement, as it was quite loose on her – she cautiously edged into the hallway, and into the other bedroom. Getting out shorts and a new pair of underwear, she quickly pulled them on. May giggled when her stomach gurgled. "I think I need breakfast."

"Good morning!" Delia said when the younger girl trotted into the kitchen, her bare feet slapping the tile loudly. "Did you sleep well?"

Nodding, May sat down at the table, smiling when Delia set a plate in front of her, stacked with pancakes and syrup already on them. "If you are anything like me, I know you're starving after a night like last night," the mothering woman remarked, winking.

"What?" she asked, flushing when Delia laughed. "You know?"

"Of course. Let me put it this way, Ash...isn't known for being all that _quiet_." She laughed when May's expression changed from embarrassment to confusion. "I could hear you."

"He's going to be mad when he finds out," May said, staring at her meal. She had barely been picking at it. Delia shook her head.

"He already did. Didn't seem angry though, more antsy and...I don't know, embarrassed? I didn't really get a chance to talk to him, when I told him I knew, Ash started acting funny and said he was going out for a while." May's eyes narrowed. "I think it was somewhere out of town, because I heard Charizard outside."

"Where'd he go?"

Delia shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

- - -

"Woah, hey Ash!" Brock waved the dark haired boy across the battle field. "What're you doing here?"

"I needed someone to talk to," he said, and Brock's smile faded; the Gym Leader could see that it wasn't just an idle visit.

"This is serious." It was a statement rather then a question. Brock lead Ash into a back room, locking the door so none of his siblings could barge in unannounced. "Where's May?"

"Back at home." Ash rubbed his eyes, appearing almost sullen when he looked up. "I think I screwed up."

"How so? You have to tell me what happened." Brock stared at him in confusion. Hanging onto Pikachu, who scowled in protest, Ash fell into the details of the surprise visit from Gary, and of what happened once he had told his rival off. Noticing the pink blush that had crept up as he finished his story, Brock leaned forward. "So...wait...you actually..."

Biting his lip, Ash looked at Brock shyly, and nodded; he was struck with the thought that the movement was one that both teenagers did, and he wondered whether it was May that had gotten Ash started doing it, or the other way around. "Yes, but that isn't what's the problem."

At Brock's inquiring gesture, Ash shook his head. "She said she was hurting," he added quietly, wincing. The Leader nearly laughed, but held himself in check; he had a feeling doing so would not help the situation.

"I knew I should have discussed this with you before. Like when you first started getting starry eyed," Brock teased, getting a strained smile from Ash. "The pain stopped immediately, yes?"

"I think so." The brown-haired man nodded thoughtfully, crossing his arms.

"Then stop thinking you did something wrong; you didn't." The disbelieving look on Ash's face clued him in on the doubt that still lingered. "It's your first time, and obviously the same for May. And it just so happens that sometimes, the first is painful."

Seeing the disbelief change to relief, Brock realized that there was a detail missing from the story. Ash blinked. "There's something else, isn't there?" the Pokemon Master asked.

"Did you _prepare_ for that?" Brock asked. His heart sank; Ash's expression said more then any words could have. "You didn't, did you?" Ash shook his head, frowning when Brock slapped a hand across his face and drew it down. "Ugh. I _really_ should have talked to you earlier, when this first came up in Nara."

"I just hadn't thought about it," he admitted. Brock sighed.

"Dammit, Ash!"

"I know, I know, I'll 'get in trouble.'" The bitterness in the younger man's voice surprised Brock, and he wondered where it had came from. "You and Misty have told me that a thousand times."

Thinking on it, the gym leader realized that they _had_ told him multiple times, and had been wrong multiple times. Smiling apologetically, Brock put his hands up in a sign of surrender. "We have, and you did prove us wrong quite a few times...which was quite a surprise." His smile widened into a grin. "And you're about to go off and prove it again."

It was Ash's turn to smile. "Wouldn't I usually?"

- - -

AN: Yes. Now. I do realize May pulling that stunt rather odd of her character, but really, I thought it'd be amusing. Really, can any of you imagine having a girlfriend/boyfriend that is supposed to be really sheltered, really innocent by most people's terms, doing that? Just because they felt like it? XD The only way I can really explain it is that her character...I imagine she'd do things off what she felt like. It does somewhat fit, what with how often things have been done by her for the mere reason of doing what she wanted/what her 'heart' told her to do/what felt right. Bath scene, anyone? Anyway, another thing that came to mind with it was that...well, it was a way to get attention, wasn't it? I can't think of one guy that wouldn't be brought back to Earth if someone grabbed them there. o.0

As for the ending scene with Brock, that was actually inspired by what someone on the NaNo forums told me when I posted a thread back in November when I wrote that first love scene asking about whether it hurt or not, what the first time is like, etc. One of them said that sometimes it can, sometimes it won't. And its possible for the guy to feel bad if it does, and might feel as if something went wrong...and it brought up the thought, being as inexperienced at May, Ash probably_ would_ think something was wrong, even if he didn't admit it to her. Thus, Brock scene. X3.

And to publicly reply to what one of the reviews said (which I replied to in a PM, but feel I should remark about here too), I do realize I am losing control of my own story. That tends to happen in a lot of my stories (Look at League Team. Look at Shadow League. Look at most of them and there are points where I lost control and either never got it back or managed to retrieve it again). I'm hoping to tie everything in somewhere so I have some control on it. :D So don't any of you worry. XD


	18. Chapter Seventeen: An Ocean of Trouble

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, Carina, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: This is actually the chapter where part of it was used for an English assignment, but I did change some of the wording in it for uploading to FFN, as I had to use big words I normally wouldn't use (Ambiguous? Pfft).

As for the character Carina, all I can say is that the storyline involving her, MPL#5 (which shall remain nameless/topic less until Chapter Eighteen), was inspired by an episode of Smallville. o.0 If any of you can tell me which one and what in it inspired this, I'll give you an E-Cookie.

Warning: None.

- Chapter Seventeen: An Ocean of Trouble -

The phone rang shrilly. Reaching an arm back, Ash plucked the received from its cradle and pressed it against his ear, closing his eyes when he was able to settle back down on the couch. "Hello?" he asked.

"Ash? Do you have the time to come over to the lab?" His eyebrows shot up; it was Professor Oak. Sitting up quickly, he noticed the elder sounded like something was wrong, and he frowned.. "Could you bring May over?"

"Oh, um..yeah, I can probably manage it-" There was a shout in the background, and Ash jumped when he heard another voice shouting back. "Is now really a good time though? It sounds like World War III over there."

"Yes, yes it is," Oak said, hanging up on him. Ash stared at the phone, wide eyed; whatever was happening had to be important. Carefully setting it back down, he looked around, thinking over where the girl could have ran off to. **_Try the fields,_** a bored voice said, and he saw Silvanus staring dully at him from the staircase, green eyes narrowed.

"Thanks, Silvanus." When the dragon shrugged, Ash hopped up, hurrying outside to find his missing girlfriend. "What could be going on that Professor Oak is in such a hurry to see us?"

Just then, Ash realized that 'the fields' could be anywhere around Pallet; it had a field that stretched to the ocean, then fields on all sides that either connected it to the next town, or to the surrounding water mass. He swore under his breath, calling for Pikachu to join him. The yellow creature poked its head out of one of the second floor windows, and he put his arms up to catch the thing as Pikachu leaped down. "I need some help finding May," he said, and Pikachu's tail twitched.

"Pikapika? Chaaaaaaka." Thrusting his small black nose into the air, Pikachu sniffed, pointing toward the southern part of town. Letting his companion climb up onto his head, Ash ran toward the shoreline, clenching his teeth in concentration; the last thing he wanted was to end up falling flat on his face.

When the dusty ground started changing to the grassy plain, he started slowing his steps. Ash peered around the wildflower covered field, shielding his eyes from the sun, and not seeing nor hearing any sign of another human being in the area. He saw something flash past him, and disappear again before he could get a good look at it. "What the hell was that?"

"Chu..." Pikachu smirked. Before Ash could ask his snickering pokemon what was so funny, he heard rustling behind him, and found himself on the ground when the rustling changed to a shout.

"Ash!" May held onto his neck as he recovered, shaking his head. "What're you doing out here?"

"I came to find you." He smiled when she pounced into his arms and clung onto him, pressing her cheek against his. _Too bad it's to most likely ruin your mood...aw, at least we've had a couple days to rest._ "Professor Oak called and said he wanted us to see him at the lab."

"What for?" May asked, and all Ash could do was shrug; he hadn't a clue, and had a feeling he would be regretting finding out. "Now?"

"He sounded in a hurry." He apologetically squeezed her when she looked toward the expanse leading to the open sea sadly. "We'll come out here later..._without_ Vanika or Silvanus hanging around."

He heard the former of the two dragons laugh, and knew that his assumption that she was there was correct. May smiled, and nodded. "Let's go see Grandpa then."

- - -

Ash stared in shock when they entered; the lab was in chaos, Pokemon freaking out, people yelling, and Oak standing in the middle of it all, shaking his head. "What...Professor, what's happening?" he asked as the old man neared them.

"My son is what happened," Oak sighed, waving a hand in the direction of the bickering couple that stood near the back of the room. Ash and May peered around him to see who he was referring to, and gawked at them; they were yelling at each other, arguing angrily as they ignored the newcomers, and shooing off the aides that tried to pacify them. "This is why I stopped letting them in here at the same time." He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

"Who are they?" May looked from her grandfather, to the pair, then back at him. Oak smiled weakly, the strain of having his son and his ex-daughter in law around showing on his face.

"Your parents. Gary took it upon himself to...well...inform them of your return. I haven't been able to get rid of them since." As he finished, they quieted down, and looked at the trio standing at the entrance. "Finally. They'd been at it for an hour."

_ That bastard needs his tongue ripped out,_ Ash thought vehemently as the aging woman approached, the man following on her heels. "...I'll...leave this to you four," Oak said quietly, ordering his helpers out, and following suit. When the door clicked shut, May looked at Ash desperately as the strange woman hugged her, her confusion showing on her face. "My darling little girl," her 'mother' cooed, stroking her hair gently, "we've been looking for you for so long..."

"Gary told us you'd been in Nara. How'd you get that far away?" Her 'father' pried the crying woman off May, and gave her his own embrace. "How'd you get back?"

"I'm with Ash," she said, and frowned when her sobbing birth mother turned to him. Ash waved his hands, backing up to keep from having her latching onto him. It was obvious to him that the statement had been taken the wrong way.

"Oh, oh, thank you, _thank you_ for bringing her back to us! You don't know how much we appreciate-" May cut her off abruptly.

"I didn't come back for you." The blunt statement startled both of the parents, and they stared at her. She pulled away from the trembling man in favor of being comfortably held by Ash; she smiled. "I came back because I wanted to be with Ash."

May nuzzled him, and Ash blushed faintly. She looked at her dumbfounded creators. "I'm sorry that I hurt you," she continued, her voice firm, "but you aren't my parents. Even though you are why I'm even alive, you aren't the ones that raised me. Vanika and Silvanus did."

The older woman's face contorted as she took a step back. Ash was amazed that someone could look so offended, as she exchanged glances with her ex-husband. "You say that without giving us a chance?" the saddened man asked.

Tears trickled down her face. "You can't do what they did," May said quietly, and Ash noticed the hesitance in her voice.

"We know that...that you have your own family, but don't just write us off? You don't know how much hell we've gone through in looking for you!" her father pleaded. _You obviously didn't look very far,_ Ash thought scathingly, _She was only in the continent next to this one!_ He scowled. "Just give us one chance, just one..."

"I don't know..." When both parents looked about to protest, May shook her head quickly. "I don't know."

"Just one!"

"Lay off." They turned to look at Ash, who glared at them. "Quite frankly, you'd be better off just letting it go. You've missed ten years; another couple days isn't going to kill you."

Flabbergasted, they fell silent. "Ash..." May said, watching him as he crossed his arms with a scowl. He mumbled under his breath.

"Who exactly are you?" the old man asked, staring intently at him. Ash smiled humorlessly.

"Oh, I guess you didn't pick up on my name earlier. I'm Ash Ketchum," he replied, resisting the urge to snicker as the parents of his baffled lover gawked at him. "I guess you could say I'm a self proclaimed guardian of sorts."

The mother's eyes narrowed. "Why are you hanging around? This doesn't have anything to do with you any longer."

The smile widened. "Not true." he said cheerfully, "Let's just say I rather not have my girlfriend getting upset again because of yet another family member being a bitch to her."

A muscle twitching in the corner of his mouth, May's father took hold of Ash's sleeve, pulling abruptly. "I will not allow a punk like you to keep me from my daughter," he growled.

"I hadn't planned anything of the sort." Giving the young man a sharp look, he scowled, and stomped out. "Geez, temperament much?"

Quietly, the older woman followed after, uneasy with the situation. "Just...contact your grandfather, when you decide?" she asked.

- - -

**_It appears things didn't go so well_**, Vanika said dryly, as the teenagers dropped wearily onto the couch, taking to leaning against each other for support. "'Didn't go so well' is an understatement. I'd swear your family is out to get us, May," Ash sighed, staring up at the ceiling, "and seem to not realize that stopping a search at the continent boarders does not count as being a 'long search.'"

"Why'd you get mad at them?" she asked, and Ash shook his head. **_You argued with them too?_**, the female dragon guessed, getting a laugh out of both of the depressed humans.

"Almost, yeah. They just pissed me off. Honestly, like they really went out of their way to find their beloved child. I doubt they stepped outside of Kanto." The scowl returned, and May put her arms around his neck, peeking at him nervously from behind. "And it's like they think that a 'hello, we looked!' is going to make up for everything."

**_Are you sure you aren't jumping to conclusions?_** Silvanus had snaked his way back downstairs. Ash frowned, and shrugged. "They didn't say much else," May said.

"Yeah...after I jumped in, they kinda ran for the hills." He had to wonder about what bothered them about him that they'd want to avoid being in a conversation with him; he knew her father felt threatened, but her mother? "Now I'm going to be thinking about them the rest of the day. Ugh."

"Shouldn't I be the one feeling bad?" she asked, "I'm not."

"Usually. Actually, I don't know who to feel worse for; you for having a family like that, or them for not knowing what they've missed." Vanika gave them a look. **_Feel good. At least with it this way, you won't have...what are they called? Laws?_** "In-laws."

May looked at him in confusion. "Ignore us," Ash finished gently.

- - -

"I don't like something about him." Gary yawned, listening to the ranting of his mother. He couldn't believe he had been dragged away from work to hear about how the meeting went. "Something about that boy just isn't right."

"I told you that before," he said, "when I was home from one of my trips. He's my rival, remember?" Her eyes narrowed, remembering back when her son was a mere boy of eleven years old. "Even if I do hate her...do you really want that fool in the way while you are trying to get your kid back? He's the only thing fighting you."

"No..." she started slowly, eyeing him, "What do you have in mind?"

The brown haired man's smile was enough to give her an idea that whatever he was thinking of wasn't going to be nice. "You'll see soon enough, when May runs to you for comfort. Who else will she have after I finish with them? I certainly won't be going out of my way to help her."

All he wanted was to make both his rival and his sister as miserable as possible, and knew exactly how to manage it without looking like the guilty party. All he needed was to contact an old friend...

- - -

Sucking on his index finger, Ash winced painfully; the bleeding cut smarted, stinging when he pulled his hand back to look at it. "This is what I get for not paying attention," he said, smiling when he heard laughter float in from outside. "Now..."

Looking at the dinner that was nearly finished, the pain dissipating into nothing, Ash returned to chopping vegetables, tossing them unceremoniously into the pot that was sitting on the stove. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Delia to let him do the cooking; she had never once seen him manage to make something without hurting himself or something else, and was reluctant to let him be alone with any kitchen utensils.

In the end, after much pleading on Ash's part and several promises that the house would, in fact, _not_ be burned down, Delia left it to him and went to visit Oak for the evening. "Finished!" Ash cried, to happy applause from Pikachu, "Get me those containers!"

Pushing the box of plastic lids and bowls over to him, Pikachu growled under his breath. "Chuuuu, Pikapi..."

"I know. I feel really bad though." Ash looked at his pokemon sadly, frowning. "I drag her all the way here, and then she keeps getting tormented."

"Pikapika chaaaaa, Pikapi chu." Putting dinner into its containers, he tossed a portion to Pikachu, grinning when the ravenous rodent squealed in delight and caught it, chewing quickly. "Kaaaaaa!"

"What do I need to do now?" the teenager asked himself, looking around once the meal was safely in its basket and set to the side. Seeing the box that was waiting for him by the door, he realized that he still had to go talk to Professor Oak, and slapped a hand against his forehead. "I forgot about that. Dammit, that means having to get him away from Mom for awhile."

Pikachu licked his paws, and peered up at his master. "Pika, pikachu Pikapika chuuuuu?" the creature cooed.

"Yes, would you?" Grateful for such a thoughtful friend, Ash watched Pikachu streak out of the kitchen, waiting until he heard the playing group outside to move away before finally taking the box, and going off on his errand; he had a lot to do before finding May and showing her what he was up to. A smile lit up his face at the thought of how she'd react. _If she thought that ring was amazing, this'll will knock her backwards._

- - -

"How much longer do I have to keep my eyes shut?"

"Just a few more minutes." May pouted, her lower lip sticking out cutely when she pulled her fist back to give Ash a smack to the chest playfully. Blocking it with his free hand, Ash silently counted the creatures that were within his sight, and found that they all were sent like he had requested; Pikachu, Swellow, Bulbasaur, even Muk and Cyndaquil, and his pokemon glanced up at the sound of their arrival. Seeing it was only their friend and trainer, they returned to playing in the quickly darkening grass. "One...two..."

Before the word 'three' could even leave his mouth, May ducked down to get away from him, and she darted off to keep him from catching hold again. Finally able to look, she blinked, her mouth hanging open in amazement. "What are these?" she asked, crouching down to look at Totodile, pulling at the Pokemon's arm curiously.

"Toto!" Jumping up and down, Totodile waved his arms. Ash laughed when the small Starter leaped up to latch on, legs flailing about as the others swarmed around the confused girl – until Muk dived into the fray, smothering her in a hug.

"Ash!" May yelled, her cries nearly inaudible as she clawed to get out from under the massive sludge pile that was the poison-type, being swamped again as more creatures surrounded her, trying to pull her out. "Aaaaaaaaash!"

"Muk! Get _off_!" he growled, pulling at the pokemon hurriedly. Creeping off, Muk took to clutching onto Ash, and he gave the thing a dark look. "Off. Go play, all of you."

Reluctantly, they scurried away, leaving the two teenagers to their own devices. May looked at Ash curiously, panting from the attack she had received from the friendly group, and poked at him when he plopped down onto the ground next to her. "I'm hungry."

"I'm amazed that you still want to eat after all that." Ash made a face, remembering the day he had caught the Sludge Pokemon; when he had picked up the poke ball, he had had to send it straight to the lab, as the stench had leaked through the very walls of the orb. May leaped at him, and they tumbled along the slight slope that led down toward the ocean.

"You don't like being jumped on, do you?" she questioned, and Ash shrugged.

"When Muk does it, not exactly. My nose is killed for about an hour after a jump from that thing!" Noticing three of his smaller pokemon pulling on the blanket that was nearby, Ash motioned for them to work together to move it closer. "Now _you_ on the other hand..."

"Hey, what are they doing?" May rolled over to watch them, as the Pokemon spread the blanket out and smoothed it down, while the third pulled the basket over and set it down at one corner. "Ohhhhhhh!"

"See? I told you I had plans. And I told you we'd come out here 'later'." Ash crawled over to the checkered blanket, kneeling on it as he carefully pulled their dinner out, setting everything down in certain spots. Feeling May behind him, her hands on his back as she peered over his shoulder to watch, he opened the containers with a flourish. "I did everything myself."

Scooting over to sit beside him rather then behind, May looked into one of the bowls, looking from it to Ash, then back at it. Carefully tasting it, her eyes narrowed to slits, and Ash deflated, his shoulders slumping. "Its...um..."

Trying his own, he turned his head and spit it out. "Too much salt." he said, eyeing May when she giggled, "I never did say I was a master chief."

Regardless of the failed meal, May hugged him, smiling. She liked it, regardless of whether it was any good or not. "At least you tried!" she snickered, and Ash laughed.

Haphazardly tossing everything into the basket again, not daring enough to attempt to digest the rest of the food that had been prepared, they took to laying on the blanket, watching the groups of pokemon play in the steadily darkening field, and watching the calm surface of the ocean reflect the the rising moon and the setting sun.

Getting up, May slowly walked towards the shore, crouching down at the edge to put a hand into the water and splash some of it back out toward the vast expenses, and stared when more moved in lethargically. "It kinda reminds me of home," May said quietly when she felt warm as Ash put his arms around her, his chin on top of her head.

"A bit." Regardless of being the only humans in the area, and of the privacy they had because of the abundance of wild pokemon that kept people out, it felt as if they had to keep their voices low, like the ocean itself was demanding the peace and quiet. "Oh, hey, I have something for you."

"Ohhh, what? Whatwhatwhat?" Tightening his embrace, Ash reached one hand into his pocket and withdrew a poke ball, holding it out in front of her. "A ball?"

"A poke ball," he corrected, as May took it and started turning it around, using her fingernails to try to open it. When it became apparent that it was failing, she turned to gnawing at it, digging her teeth into the button on it, and yelped when it enlarged; even though he tried to suppress it, Ash laughed loudly, biting his lip when the brunette gave him an impatient look. All it managed was to cause another eruption of giggles, as she had the orb held in both hands, and the button still in her mouth as she pulled and tugged to get it open. "Why don't you just try mimicking me again? I know you can!"

Putting her hands down, May stared at him, and a pink blush crept up when she realized what he was referring to. Thinking about the pokemon battles that had been part of the tournament of Nara, she rolled the poke ball between her hands, and the image of the trainer _throwing_ it came to mind. Letting the orb fly, she watched in amazement as it spun in the air, opening and a red light escaped from it and hit the water.

As the ball flew back of its own accord, the light that had been unleashed took form; a round body, four long legs, and a spike on its head, and its colour turned blue and yellow. May's eyes widened as it skated across the surface of the water, little legs barely moving, the water barely broken by the movements.

When the arachnid-like Pokemon scurried onto the shore, the happy creature leaped up, and May had to throw herself backwards to catch it before it hit the ground again. "Skkkkkkeet!"

Before she could inquire as to the identity of the newcomer, Ash passed his pokedex over to her, amusement playing across his face. Tentatively opening it, it beeped, and a feminine voice spoke up as a picture of the bouncing creature appeared on the small screen, "Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokemon. They gather on puddles after evening downpours, gliding across the surface of water as if sliding. It secretes honey with a sweet aroma from its head."

"Where'd he come from?" May asked, hugging the squeaking Bug-type, already enamored with the creature. Surskit wiggled his front legs free, being held uncomfortably tight by the excited teenager.

"Hoenn. I had to get Professor Oak to get him from one of the guys there. I was lucky that they already had one and could send it right away, or he never would have had managed it so quickly." Ash watched Surskit for several seconds, before putting a hand on hers. "I think you're hurting it, May."

"I'm sorry!" Letting the squirming insect go, May looked apologetically at it, and Surskit tapped a foot on her knee before running off to explore. With her new friend safely out of the way, she jumped at Ash; even though he had braced himself for the attack long before it came, he still had trouble staying upright. "Thank you, Ash!"

"Your welcome." He gaped when she squeezed him, stuck her tongue out, and scrambled up, running off into the longer grasses. "What the..."

Slowly getting up, Ash stared mutely in the direction she had went, unsure of whether to run after her or to stay where he was and to wait. Turning to regard his team, they paused to look at him curiously when they sensed his attention was being drawn to them. He spun around when he felt something brush past him, but met only empty air. Putting his hands on his hips, the Pokemon Master taped his foot in disbelief. "Chuuu?" Pikachu asked, and the other creatures stared piping up with their own questions.

"I don't know what she's up to." He rose an eyebrow when May tapped him on the shoulder from behind, getting up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek and running off again. Seeing what her game was, Ash took chase. _You don't know who you are playing with._ "What!"

He slid when he saw the girl dart up beside him, Surskit on her head, and he pushed one foot on the ground, aiming to turn his momentum in her direction. May dodged to the side, and Surskit jumped up, using its spindly legs to land on Ash's shoulder. "Skeeeeet!" he cried, leaping up to knock Ash's hat off, and May grabbed it before the black-haired man could get to it.

As the insect jumped back to his friend, May tauntingly placed the league cap on her own head, tilting it down in a good imitation of her panting boyfriend, and whisked toward the water. Growling, Ash followed. "Pikachu!" he yelled, and the yellow rodent appeared beside him, small paws beating the ground as it ran to keep up. "Stop her!"

"Pikapi, kaaa!" Pikachu streaked forward, zigzagging around various obstacles, until he was finally beside, then in front of, May. She jumped over the sparking creature, her feet hitting the water that had been right behind him, and took off at a run. The Electric-type gave his trainer a disappointed look.

"Leave her to me, anyway," Ash said, pointing to Surskit and smiling. Taking the hint, Pikachu aimed a weak Thunder Bolt at the Water-type as he neared at a trot, and Surskit flew away from May, landing farther out on the water. "Give me back my hat!"

May laughed, spinning to look at him directly, her steps slowing, giving him time to catch up. "That's not fun," she whined as Ash advanced on her, and tried to get away; however, she didn't have enough time to do it, and she was caught before she could run again.

"Give it back," he growled, getting silence in reply. May shook her head, staring off toward town, and Ash finally caved; he glanced over to see what had caught her attention, and saw a girl standing several feet away, hiding behind one of the few trees that were scattered around. She peered at them. "Who's that?"

She stepped out from her hiding place. "Ash!" she cried, trotting over to them, and throwing her arms around the confused man. He stumbled back.

"Um..." Looking at May, Ash shrugged, just as baffled as she was. "No offense, but...would you mind telling me who you are?"

"But we're...how could you not..." Clearly upset, she acceded. "Carina?"

Ash's eyes widened. "Oh!" he said, prying her off, "Carrie! What'd you do to yourself? You look different."

"Haircut, contacts, all the normal stuff." she replied vaguely. Turning to May, Carina stared at her suspiciously. "Who's this?"

"I'm May." When the girl moved to be beside him, still wearing his hat, Ash gently hugged her, plucking it off her head with a smirk. Putting it on, he smiled. Carina watched them silently, her eyes narrowed.

"She's..." Ash paused, thinking over how to word what he wanted to say, to get it just right. "Well, she's my girlfriend from Nara."

The look on Carina's face changed to hurt, then anger. "Girlfriend?" she started softly, her voice raising, "Girlfriend? Why are...how could you cheat on me?" Ash jumped back, his jaw hanging open.

"What in blazes are you talking about?" he asked, getting anxious when May gave him a confused look. "I've never been anything other then friends with you." Carina snorted.

"But...Ash!" She scurried forward, grabbing hold of his hands in a frenzy. "You...you said that we would get.." Carina started tearing up. "You said we'd get married when we grew up!"

Ash felt his heart sink, getting near identical looks from both girls – one hurt, one angry, both confused. He couldn't believe his luck; trying his hardest to have a good time, and managing to get disturbed by an old friend that was sorely mistaken. "What? Married? Since when?"

"Since we were seven! Ash, you said it yourself, you said that when you finished your training, when you became a Master, you'd come back, and we'd get married!" Ash rubbed a hand against the back of his head, staring in disbelief. "And I found out, you did it, you managed it, and you're here now..."

He sighed. "I was seven, then. Seven. A very dumb, seven year old kid. How could you honestly take that seriously?" Ash asked, amazed; he had almost totally forgotten about it. It had been an idle comment at the time, one made to get her off his back – she had already taken an interest in others of the opposite sex, and he had been the unfortunate victim of her attention, regardless of his ignorance of the actual concept – and that had, as he was just then realizing, backfired. "Get your head out of 1st grade."

"I don't care when it was said!" Carina yelled, pointing at him. Ash gaped, looking from her to May – who was tight lipped, her eyes betraying just how hurt she felt, Surskit returned to her side – and then at his own pokemon, whose ears had drooped. "Ash Ketchum, you cannot just change your mind like this! You'll see, you have to keep to your word!"

Feeling just as bad as he had that morning, Ash watched Carina run off.


	19. Chapter Eighteen: The Mark of Love

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, Carina, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Awww, I'm surprised no one took my challenge about the Smallville episode. D: I'm sad now. ... XD Okay, not really.

As for the story, we are getting into a very bumpy part of the story. Many plot lines are going to be resolved, including the family one, the one with Carina, and then the last one which is going to be brought up in Chapter 19 (which is, actually, a connection of Plots 1, 4, and 5 (AshxMay, Family, Carina)

As for FFN stuff, I am quite amazed at the stats DG has: 43 reviews, 2928 hits, 8 favourites, and 10 alerts. I can say in all certainly, that DG is my most well off stat-wise. The only ones that even remotely comes close to matching it is Shadow League, and my Triple Trouble series.

Since a review brought something to my attention, don't worry just yet. Remember when I said in my notes of...ehhhh, Sixteen...that 'I'll let you come up with your own conclusions, though it might not be what you expect.'? Yes. That comes into play right about now, big time, and especially in Chapter Nineteen and the end of Eighteen. XD

Warning: None.

- Chapter Eighteen: The Mark of Love -

Ash sat on the roof, staring sadly at the dark sky. He didn't feel comfortable in the house; if Pikachu wasn't bugging him, Surskit was staring at him, and then he also had May pouting. He growled angrily; he hadn't even done anything to deserve being avoided by her! _How the hell was I supposed to know both of them would have taken something I said TEN DAMN YEARS AGO so seriously? May wasn't even a possibility to me then!_

"I thought I'd find you up here." He turned his head to see Delia clambering up the lattice that was connected to the side of the house. "I noticed everyone was acting down, and you went missing, so...here I am."

Settling down beside her only child, Delia turned an eye to him, smiling weakly. "Everything went wrong." Ash said quietly, shrugging hopelessly, "Everything is going wrong..."

When she gave him an inquiring look, Ash shook his head. "Do you remember that girl I used to play with? Carina?" he asked, and when Delia nodded slowly, he sighed. "She showed up."

Her eyes widened. "What for?"

"Heck if I know. She popped up, and started talking about how I told her I'd marry her when I became a Master, which I did, when I was little, and now its got May upset." Ash bit his lip. "And then when she left, all I could do was stare, I couldn't even get myself to say anything afterwards."

"Well, you can't just hide up here forever, you know." Ash glanced at her, his face flushed from the effort he was putting forth to keep from screaming in frustration and from yelling at the woman; she was only trying to help him, after all. "I saw the new pokemon."

He let out a breath loudly. "Yeah. It...he's the one I asked the professor to get from Hoenn for me." Another quick, sad look. "I was just trying to make her happy, Mom. It's just been one nightmare after another, and I thought just making one night a little better would help things, but then Carrie showed up and bang, there goes my idea."

Ash shivered. "It won't get better if you avoid each other like the plague." Delia pointed out, and Ash hugged himself, frowning, "Ash, this isn't you."

She smiled when he turned his attention back to her. "You don't hide, not like this." she continued, gently brushing a hand through his dark hair, which hadn't changed all that much since he was a kid, "You _fight_. You fight more then your father ever did, and I don't like seeing you give up so easily."

Closing his eyes, Ash tilted his head, the small amount of contact reminding him of when he was a small boy that needed comfort – which was exactly what he needed, even as a full grown man. "I've never seen her looking so...hurt." He clenched his teeth, trying to force himself from crying; he had done too much of it as it was. "It was like I'd betrayed her."

"You've only been back for what, 2, 3 weeks?" Nodding thoughtfully, she pointed toward the windmill that was over by the lab, its blades swirling around peacefully. "Sam and I were actually talking about you two. Do you know what he said?"

Ash shrugged again. "He said, when she first vanished, he had actually had his own team out, and they combed over Kanto, Johto...even Hoenn. Nara was searched, but they still couldn't find anything. Even if her parents didn't try, Sam did. He cares about her, Ash." Delia smiled, wiping a hand across her eyes. "He said that it amazed him that she had been hidden and protected so well. Though...he was happy."

"About what?" He looked at her, his interest and curiosity caught.

"He was happy that of all the people that were there, that it was you, Misty, and Brock that found her." She laughed lightly, and turned to her son quickly. "And Sam feels better knowing that May's with you."

"Even though I somehow manage to fail the simple task of keeping out of trouble for a few hours." Delia rolled her eyes.

"Ash! Stop being so negative!" She tapped a finger against the tip of his nose, eliciting a snicker from the gloomy male. "You can't expect perfection. Your father and I went through trouble just as often as you are, and we worked through it together."

"But May's mad at me."

"I don't think so." When Ash turned a critical, unbelieving look to her, Delia smiled. "Sweetie, that girl adores you, and even Sam knew it from sitting with you two for a few minutes. I'll tell you right now, she's scared more then angry."

His eyes narrowed. "How would you know?" he asked, and Delia waved a hand as she gingerly started back towards the side of the roof, twisting so she could climb down.

"I know," she replied gently, "because I was her once upon a time." As the brunette woman disappeared, Ash stared at the empty space blankly.

- - -

May tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. She felt horrible; she had been having fun, getting along fine with her new Surskit and finally being able to taunt Ash just as much as he taunted her at times. Then that other woman – Carina? - ruined it for her, bringing news she hadn't wanted to hear.

She sighed, giving up on sleep and stared at the ceiling. May silently wished that he'd return, to explain what had happened, to assure her that it would all be alright and that it had all been false, that Carina had been lying.

But it wasn't lies. Carina had been telling the truth, and Ash hadn't denied a word of it; he barely protested it, mainly arguing that it had been years ago when it was made, yet it didn't help. She felt tears streak her face as a sob rose up. Feeling the silent, comforting presence that was Vanika sneak in, May turned her head to look at the empty space where the missing trainer usually slept. **_Are you alright?_**, the dragon asked, appearing from beside the bed, claws poking into the mattress as the creature gracefully climbed on, laying down.

"No," May said softly, closing her eyes as more tears leaked out, and she moved to be near Vanika, not even minding that the scaly reptile wasn't as comfortable to lay on as the pillows. It had been that way when Silvanus and she had found the child; they had appeared so large to her, yet they were no taller then an eight year old, and had served as beds for several months before she was able to wonder off on her own without their constant comfort and assurance. "That lady...she said...she said..."

Making the explanation easier, Vanika looked into the confused mind, finding out within seconds just what had occurred and why the girl was so upset. **_Oh..._oh_...I see._** The female swung her head to look toward the window quickly. **_Why didn't you try talking about it? _**May rubbed her eyes. "He didn't even say anything when she left. Ash looked at me strangely then started getting his pokemon together."

Vanika used the end of her tail to stroke the disquieted teenager. "They all looked sad." she continued as another wave of tears threatened to start, "Why'd he have to tell her he'd marry her!" Her voice rose as she cried, shoulders shaking. **_I'm the wrong one to ask,_** Vanika replied sympathetically, using a claw to pat her on the head. **_You need to talk to Ash._**

- - -

"Yes...yes, I did it." Carina twisted the phone cord around her fingers, nodding. "Though I don't see why I had to in front of that girl. I would have preferred mentioning it in private. This is only between me and him, after all."

"I told you. If you want that promise filled, you need her out of the way, and putting a wedge between them will do just that. Do you understand now?" her friend replied coldly.

"Yes, I do...what else do I have to do?" She stared off dreamily as there was silence on the line; she had lost count of how many years had gone by since she had taken a liking to the boy that would later prove to be good enough to take on the rank of Pokemon Master, and when she had heard about it, she'd been thrilled. Finally, after waiting so long, she'd get her reward for doing so! Humming, she smiled.

"Just make sure you get them separated. Remember, this is for the good of your marriage." There was a click.

Carina stared at the phone; he'd hung up on her.

- - -

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Seeing nothing better to do – and nothing to get his frustration taken out on – he took to training his team, barking out attack names at random and pointing at different targets. Some of them he took a different approach with; a few were battling each other, while others were working alone independent of him and of the rest of the teams.

Watching the rhythmical actions, he started feeling calmer, his sleep deprived mind lulling. Even after the late night talk with Delia, he hadn't went inside the house; instead, he had taken to wandering the town, looking around in the quiet night, unable and unwilling to go to bed. "I should just get it over with," he mused, blinking from how heavy his eyes felt.

It was when he started having the feeling of being watched that he turned to regard the forest. Seeing Surskit jump out of one of the trees, Ash rubbed a hand across his face, straightening his shoulders; he knew what the arrival of the pokemon meant, and he didn't want to look like he had just walked through Hell for it. "Pikapika, chu..."

Hearing May enter his training area, Ash clapped, indicating they should stop and rest. Glancing over at her, he folded his arms across his chest. "What'd you need?" he asked, wondering if his voice sounded as weak to everyone else as it did to him.

"I think...I think we need to talk," she said quietly, rubbing her eyes, then her cheek. It was then Ash noticed how pale she was, and he nearly broke down at the mere thought that she'd suffered over the course of the night and morning.

"No...I think I just have a lot of explaining to do." Sitting down at the spot he stood, he pointed at the ground in front of him, and May slowly edged down. Taking a deep breath, Ash started. "I used to be friends with Carina when I was a kid, went to school with her and everything, with your brother."

Leaning back to be supported by one of the trees, Ash watched her, gauging for a reaction. "It was about three years before I went on my first journey, and one before my dad did. Carrie...I had no clue what was going on with her. She started acting strange, kept doing everything she could to get my attention regardless of how idiotic she looked doing it. I finally got tired of her prying and whining and told her that _if_ I somehow managed to become a Master like I wanted, I'd marry her. I'd only heard Mom mention it before, and it wasn't until later I found out what it r_eally_ meant."

He looked at May ruefully. "I had thought she'd been happy with that and had forgotten about the whole thing...which is actually what I nearly did. I barely remember it. But apparently she remembers too well and is bringing it up. Talk about being bit in the ass by my own plan. I guess she thinks I actually intend to keep my 'promise' from when I was seven."

May was silent, her hands on her feet and her chin against her knees. "You...is it like with this?" she asked, raising her hand up and spreading her fingers, showing him the ring that he had given her in Nara.

Ash shook his head. "Not quite. For one thing, that I meant." The attempt at humor fell flat, as May continued to stare at him dully. "Eh...well, no. The issue with Carrie is that she believes that since my only request was filled, that it means that we're engaged... which... um..." He frowned. "Oh shit."

She looked miserably at him. "What about me then?" Stifling a sob, May glanced away. When Ash didn't – or as the case was, couldn't – give an answer, she pounded a fist against the ground, startling Surskit and the surrounding pokemon. "This isn't fair!"

"May-"

"This isn't fair, Ash!" **_Calm down, child!_**, both unexpected voices said, surprising Ash when Silvanus appeared in one of the trees, and Vanika at the base. "You said...said that..."

"I said," he cut in carefully, scooting forward so that they were closer, "that I. Am. _Yours._ Carrie can't hold a candle to you, and neither can what I said to her _back then_ to what I promised you _now_."

"But you can't just break your promise to her either!" Ash had the sneaking feeling that had it been any other couple in their situation, it would have appeared amusing. As it was, he leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek.

"I won't. I can still take it back though. And I will be doing that." _Stop being stubborn,_ he thought, noticing that May was trying to keep from smiling. Smirking, Ash crawled forwards on his hands and knees, forcing her to scramble back. They both twisted to look when they heard a nasally laugh coming from Silvanus, and Ash took the break in the moment to grab May's ankle, pulling her back.

"Hey, Ash!" she cried before he silenced her.

"I know what I'm doing. Now pay attention." Ash pressed a kiss against the spot he knew she liked, doing it just a little harder then he normally would have. May looked at her dragon parents in confusion. Silvanus shrugged; Vanika's Link coloured, showing her curiosity about what he was trying to do. **_Don't ask us,_** Silvanus said, hiding his own wonderment of what the teenager was up to. When Ash finally could speak, he looked at her. "Understand that? I want you to do that."

"What are you trying to do?" May asked. Ash waved a hand, laying back down, his arms bent behind his head; he smiled.

"I'll tell you after you do what I asked," he replied coltishly, and then fell silent, waiting for her expectantly. The smile that had been trying to form finally getting out, May laughed, and she jumped at him. When she bit down gently on his neck, he sucked in an abrupt breath, his eyes widening.

"Now tell me!" she said, settling down beside him, staring when Ash twisted to be face to face with her, grinning. When he tilted his chin up, May sat back up, shock etched across her face. "What is that? I hurt you!"

"That is exactly what I wanted to happen." **_You wanted that?_**, Vanika asked. Looking toward Silvanus and her, he touched the bruise that started forming. Ash shushed May when she started fussing over it again. "I called Brock earlier, and he suggested that this might be a good way to make a point to Carrie."

At the inquiring looks, Ash shrugged. "It's just that...that ring probably wouldn't cut it, not alone anyway." Nuzzling her, he whispered quietly into her ear, "And he thought that it might make it a little clearer who I'm meant to be with if I let you do that, even if it was unintentional on your part and only temporary."

**_A bruise?_**, Silvanus said sarcastically, **_How loving._** Ash snickered. "That is exactly why I prefer calling it a love-bite. Sounds a bit nicer then any of the other names," the teenager remarked, "and it works for now. I only need Carrie to figure out that she's fighting a losing battle. Normally that-" He pointed to May's ring. "-would be enough, but...well, knowing her, it won't be."

**_I still do not understand the point of it._** Vanika frowned. _Neither do I,_ the amused teenage male thought, _but I figure if it makes her feel any better about this, then hell, what could it hurt?_ Ash seriously had no idea why Brock suggested it. The female smiled then, and nodded. "What are you going to do now?" May asked.

Ash smirked, and the dragons looked at each other. **_We're gone._** "What else? Make up for last night."

- - -

Delia looked out the window. It was growing dark out, stars already appearing in the deep blue of the upper sky. She worried; it had been several hours since May ran out, and even longer since she'd seen Ash. "Where did they both run off to?" she asked herself.

Dinner was simmering in the kitchen, waiting for her to tend to it. She squinted when she saw something small and yellow jump onto the fence, black-tipped ears twitching. "Pikachu!" she cried, flinging the door open to greet the pokemon that ran at her.

"Chuuuuu!" The creature looked back at his master, who was inching into the yard slowly, carrying a sleeping teenage girl, his head tilted down heavily. "Pikapika, kaaaaa."

"I'm just going to go straight to bed," Ash yawned. He was tired; after going all night without sleeping a wink, then so much stress and activity throughout the morning and afternoon, he felt ready to fall over where he stood. Passing Delia, he went upstairs without another word.

"What happened out there?" she asked, frowning.

- - -

"I want to apologize for what happened at our first meeting. It was unneeded what happened." May looked up briefly from her chore; she was feeding the baby pokemon, a job given to her by Professor Oak. As Gary thought it was below him to do so, it was normally left to the old man, and it was easier on him if May did it. She had jumped at the chance when he mentioned it as she entered only thirty minutes prior.

"Ummm..." She blinked when the woman hugged her.

"I heard about what happened the other day. Are you alright?" she asked. May nodded hesitantly; she didn't know whether or not she could trust the strange woman, the one who she had ran from as a child.

"We're fine. Ash said he'd take care of it all." May resumed giving the babies their food, taking it out of the container sitting beside her. She smiled at them, even though her throat had tightened at the thought of what could potentially happen if he couldn't clear up the issue with Carina. The fact that her mother brought it up brought up a bad feeling.

"I'm sure." The graying woman stood beside her, watching the Pokemon chomp on their breakfasts. "You know, if you ever need to, or want to or anything, I'm always around to talk to."

May stayed silent, her eyes narrowed. She continued hastily. "And I know that you don't want to call me Mom, but could you at least call me by my name?" The brunette girl looked at her. "Do you remember it?"

She shook her head, gripping the railing tightly in her hands. The older woman smiled sadly. "I thought that might be the case. You don't remember, Donna? My name?"

"No." May looked out of the window, watching Professor Oak traipse across the field back toward the lab. She closed the lid on the container and carried it over to the cooler.

"I'll never be equal to her, will I?" Donna asked, "To her...what's her name? Vickie?"

May scowled. "Vanika." she corrected, "No. No one can be."

She smiled. "At least you're honest, huh?" she commented, patting her birth daughter on the shoulder, "You're a wonderful young lady."

Pausing, May turned to look at her. "I learned from the best," she said, as her smirking brother entered.

"Gramps needs you to go get some things." Gary snapped, tossing a folded piece of paper at her, then turned to Donna, "Hello Mom."

"Hello, dear," she greeted cheerfully. May looked between them, then at the paper suspiciously. "Where do you get all of this?"

"In Viridian. Thank you can manage it?" His lips quirked up in a smirk. "Considering you could wonder your way back and forth from here to Nara, Viridian should be a piece of cake."

May growled. "I'm only going because Grandpa needs this stuff," she said, glaring at him, stomping out angrily. Gary watched after her back, then looked at his worrying mother.

"I hope you aren't having second thoughts." he said casually, "Because in a few minutes she's going to have her heart broken."

- - -

AN: Yes, more notes. Please don't throw fruit at me or something. x.x; I just wanted to mention that 'love-bite' crap. I had been thinking on that after I read a manga that one of the characters 'marked' another one, and found it to be a cute idea that one would do that to show that 'hey! Guess what! We're together!' So I thought to use it here, though it could, and most likely would, be useless. Really, I just wanted an excuse to make them..not all depressed and angry in this chapter, as the next ones most likely will be to some degree. x.x;


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Motherly Care

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, Carina, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: We're getting steadily closer to the end, I'm afraid. By the looks of things there is only this one, Chapter Twenty, then the Epilogue. There might be another chapter in there, but by the way things are going with my work on Twenty, we only have three three left. Kinda odd really, considering how long it is now and how much work I've put into it. I'm kinda sad that it'll be ending soon.

Anyway, Chapter 19. Things really start getting bad now! XD Now to see if they all turn out alright. -cough-Probablywouldeveniftheyshouldn't-cough- Ahem.

Warning: None.

- Chapter Nineteen: Motherly Care -

"Ash! I knew you wouldn't disappoint me!" Carina smiled widely when she saw him approaching; it wavered when she saw his grim look. "I knew you'd see that I was right all along."

"You aren't." Ash stared at her, arms crossed across his chest. He looked away, scowling; he wanted to be anywhere but near her. "All I'm doing is trying to figure out what the hell is going on."

"But you know as well as I do that we're engaged. Our agreement, when you became..." she started, but the dark haired young man cut her off quickly.

"...when I became a Master, we would marry. Do I really need to remind you again that I was a fool that made an empty promise when I didn't know what it was I was even promising?" Frowning, he glanced at her. "Yet, a promise is a promise."

She squealed happily. "Does that mean you've left that other girl?" she asked cheerfully.

"Hell no!" Ash snapped, and Carina shrank back at how angry he sounded, "She is the best thing that's happened to me! I'm not going to break my promise though. I'm calling it off, right here, right now."

Carina paled. "You...you can't just call it off! We have to agree!" she cried, and Ash glared at her. "I won't agree to just calling the whole thing off! Can't we talk about this, _please_?"

"What's to talk about? I refuse, you can't do anything about it, end of story. Quite frankly, the only reason I'm formally breaking off what I said is because I know it'll make May feel better." The Pokemon Master shrugged. "So what's the point of talking about it?"

"But, Ash!" Carina's eyes filled with tears. _Oh god, the waterworks,_ he thought, sighing. "You know I love you!"

"Well, I don't love you." Ash knew we was being unusually cruel to her, and felt bad for it. No matter how much he was starting to dislike her, she didn't deserve such harsh replies. "You didn't notice the ring May was wearing?"

She shook her head. "I'd given her a Promise ring." he said, "I love _her,_ I want to be with _her_, not you."

"That doesn't prove anything. Anyone could buy one of those!" Carina hugged him, shaking her head quickly. "We're supposed to be together! I was first! Ash-"

"Get off me." Scowling, Ash pushed her away, trying to keep distance between the two of them. "And get a clue in that head of yours."

"I've known you longer!" Carina said, and he looked away. Her eyes narrowed then, and she advanced on him. "Ash...what...did you do? What is that?" He would have laughed at the expression on her face had he not wanted to slap her at the same time.

"And regardless, you apparently know nothing about me," Ash replied. Smiling sweetly, he put a hand up to his throat, knowing that the reddish mark was annoying Carina severely; it amused him. "What is what? I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You're hiding it!" Carina swatted his hand away, and put her own under his chin to tip it up; Ash bit his tongue to keep from making a smart remark. "You and her...you were...weren't you?"

"What if we were?" She stared at him, jealousy shining in her eyes. Ash put his hands up, his eyes widening innocently. He was about to ask what she was looking at that was so fascinating – Carina's attention had shifted to something out of his range of vision – when she caught him by surprise, putting her arms around his neck and quickly pressing her lips against his, keeping him locked into it as well as she could. Struggling, Ash slid an arm up to pry her off again.

He heard a short cry, and his head snapped to the side. Ash felt his heart sink. "Oh my god no."

- - -

May looked over the list, frowning. She didn't know what half of the stuff on it was, and where in Viridian to get it; she also didn't know where Viridian was to begin with. Sighing, she tucked it away, looking around. _Ash said one of the cities is Viridian..._

**_Try the one that is close to here._** May looked over to see Silvanus hiding in the bushes near one of the houses, hunched over in the branches and his tail curled around him.**_ You have to go through the forest you were in yesterday to get to Viridian._**

"I don't see why I have to be the one to get all of this. Why couldn't he get it instead?" she asked, and Silvanus shrugged. "At least I don't have to look at him. Ugh."

The silver creature bounded into the next set of foliage. His Link had turned red and angry, and it bothered May seeing him getting mad. **_What is going on over there?_** he asked, looking off toward one of the side streets. She looked around, not seeing anyone, and started the trek down it, curiosity overtaking her common sense. **_I don't like this._**

"You usually don't like it," May pointed out, smirking when he scowled at her, and blinked. "Oh, hey, look! Ash!...oh." She tilted her head, seeing Carina with him. "I guess he decided to go talk to her while I was with Grandpa." Silvanus' wings went out, parallel to the ground.

"What if we were?" The words were clear to her ears, and May wondered what Ash was talking about. She took a step back instinctively when Carina looked in her direction. **_Something is going on_**, the dragon commented suspiciously.

"I know," she said, and froze when the other girl leaned up and kissed him. **_What?_** May whimpered, then cried, turning and running back the other way, ignoring the outrage she could feel in her father figure and the shouts she could hear from behind. The acute pain was all she could focus on; it was like she had been stabbed in the heart. _It...hurts...so much..._

- - -

"May!" Ash yelled, before turning to Carina, glaring angrily at her. The cute smile on her face only enhanced the boiling emotion. "You bitch, what the hell was that for?"

"It was to show you that I'm being serious," Carina replied lightly, moving to touch him, "very serious."

"Well, I'm being serious. Stay the hell away from me, I _hate_ you! Take a hint, I don't like you, I don't appreciate your trying to ruin my life, and...dammit, MAY!" Jumping back, Ash slapped her hand back, frowning in disgust, and he ran after the fleeing girl, shouting after her. "May! Stop! Please!"

Skidding to slow her momentum, May twisted to take off down another street, diving toward the closest house. She could barely see where she was going; everything was blurred to her, the tears distorting her vision. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, hiding in the shrubs quietly. _I don't want to talk to him_, she thought, more upset then she had ever felt before. **_Don't worry about it_**, Silvanus soothed, and she felt him slither next to her.

"No way..." Ash rubbed his hands down his face, and groaned. "No freaking way...May...dammit...dammit! It figures that when I try to fix something, it gets ten times worse!" He looked around desperately, seeing no sight nor sound of her, and sighed. "I need to get...Pikachu and them first. Yes..."

Leaning back against the house, May closed her eyes, heaving a deep breath. "Why?" she asked softly, once she heard the footsteps fade away to nothing. She got to her feet, sniffling as a numbness fell over her. Silvanus trotted by her side as she walked, disregarding the danger he was in from being exposed. "Why'd he...let her...do that..."

Silvanus shook his head. He knew something wasn't quite right; he could feel it. May wobbled, making a small suffering sound, and fell over. **_May!_** She lay still, unresponsive; she had fainted.

- - -

"Shhhh, it's okay." May blinked her heavy eyes, and she saw a pair of blue eyes enter her vision. When her mind cleared, she was able to register that they belonged to Donna, and she jumped. "You're safe here."

"Where's Silvanus!" she asked, sitting up and clutching onto the baffled woman. "Where is he?" **_I'm here_**, he replied vaguely, and May felt his presence in the room, along with Vanika's. "Where am I?"

"You're in your old room," Donna said calmly, gently touching her forehead, smoothing the hair back. May bit her lip, feeling little comfort from the old woman. "I found you outside when I was coming back from the lab. I was afraid you had fallen ill...You must have had an attack of some sort."

May started crying again, and the sniveling girl didn't complain when her mother embraced her, rocking her silently, shushing her. She felt Vanika creep up next to her, laying by her side, and sniffled. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, May shook her head; she just wanted to be left alone, to have no one to bother her and hurt her anymore. "No," she replied, yet she clung onto Donna nonetheless.

"Does this...have to do with what happened? What I mentioned earlier?" the mother asked, and May paused. Both Vanika and Silvanus were staying silent, but she could tell they didn't feel right about the grey-haired woman that was trying to comfort her. Frowning, she nodded, tears leaking out.

"I went to go get what Grandpa needed." she explained hoarsely, "And I saw Ash. He was with Carina, and he was talking to her and I saw he was talking to her, then..." May hesitated, her throat tightening again. Donna rubbed her back.

"Don't worry. If you want, you can tell me later. You need to rest." May watched her, frowning as she left the room, the door clicking shut. Vanika and Silvanus materialized once it was safe. **_You're suffering_**, Vanika said, **_without knowing the full story._**

May hugged her. "I saw him. I saw what they did." The image shocked Vanika into silence. "How can he ever explain that?" **_Well...May...child...we don't know what happened. How long were you there?_** "A few seconds with Silvanus." Vanika stared. **_You need more information then._**

"How though? It's...I can't talk to him! I can't talk to Ash!" She pouted. "I don't know what to do..." Hearing sounds in other parts of the house, May blinked. "I can ask Donna later..." Her eyes darkened when she felt weepy again; thinking about Ash just made her feel worse then she already did, and talking about it to her birth mother would surely make it worse yet again. "Why can't it of been different..."

- - -

Ash watched out of the window. He was confined to the house by Delia until he calmed down enough that she deemed it safe to let him go out; until then, he was content with having his pokemon patrolling and searching, though none of them were turning up with anything. "I can't even find Vanika," he said to himself, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

He felt sleepy, the adrenaline rush of his anger at Carina long gone; in its place was an emptiness, one that didn't seem to want to leave. Ash knew it wouldn't, not when he was still on rocky grounds with the missing girl. "No luck?" a voice asked.

"None," Ash replied as Delia took a seat next to him, taking his hand into hers and squeezing it. "I want to go find her..."

"I know. It might be better if you both let off some steam first, then go looking for each other? It'll give you time to get it straight in your mind what you want to say." He smiled sadly.

"I don't think letting steam off is going to help much." Ash looked away. "Did you call Professor Oak?"

She nodded. "He hasn't seen her since she left for something. He wasn't sure why either, as she was supposed to help with taking care of more pokemon, and Gary couldn't tell him anything."

Ash's eyes narrowed. Something was looking suspicious about the situation to him, and he had a feeling he knew who would possibly be behind it. "I think I have an idea of where she might be."

- - -

May yawned, stretching out under her covers. She felt Vanika next to her, and Silvanus farther down, and she sat up. The male dragon's head lifted up at the sign of her being awake. **_You slept well?_**, he asked, prodding his mate gently to rouse her. "Better then I thought I would," the teenager admitted.

She could hear clacking downstairs, and Donna's voice floating up as she talked on the phone. May kicked the sheets off, crawling out of bed quietly. "I think I need to go talk to her." **_You can do it._** Vanika's encouragement helped her slightly, May padded out into the hallway, noticing that her parents had disappeared from view, and started toward the stairs.

When the doorbell rang shrilly, she shrank back against the wall, holding her breath as she heard Donna walking over to answer the door. At the prompting she was getting from Silvanus, May crept along, getting on her hands and knees to look between the railing. "Hello?" her human mother asked, unlocking and opening the door, and May had to shove her fingers in her mouth to stifle the cry she near let out. "Oh! It's you!"

"Yes Ma'am." May watched them in silence, biting hard on her hand; she couldn't believe that the first place she went was the first place Ash would look. Donna appeared to be unfazed by the sudden visit, as she smiled when he glanced away awkwardly, tapping the toe of his shoe on the floor. "Um...I'm..."

"Looking for my daughter?" Donna asked, and May near yelled at her to not give it away that she was there; then her mind caught up and she mentally slapped herself at even considering it. "Well, she certainly isn't here. You'll have to look elsewhere."

May felt tears well up as Ash turned his look back to Donna, his face showing just how upset he was getting. His shoulders slumping, he sighed. "If you see her, could you tell her I need to talk to her?"

"I can." She closed the door hastily, giving him only a quick 'good bye.' Donna peered up at her, raising an eyebrow. "You've been there the whole time, haven't you?"

Pulling herself up with the railing, May nodded as she started sobbing. Donna rushed up to her, gently embracing her and stroking her long brown hair, cooing softly. "I love him," she said quietly, sniffling loudly.

"I know, I know..." Donna looked over her head, toward the window that was above the door. "You poor thing...do you want to talk?"

Feeling like her heart had been torn to shreds just from seeing him again, May nodded. Leading her into the den and sitting her down, Donna listened intently to the story, having to hide her satisfaction when it came to hearing that everything – even though May didn't know it – was going exactly how Gary had planned it. Her daughter was walking right into their hands. She felt uncomfortable then, as if someone was glaring at her, but no one else was in the room as far as she could see; it was only the two of them.

What she didn't know was that both Vanika and Silvanus could see, clear as day, that she wasn't as caring and sympathetic as she was acting. May turned her head, looking in their direction, then bit down on her knuckles to stifle her whining. "He let her! I love Ash. ..I love him..." **_You don't know that_**, Vanika pointed out to her, but was silenced when Donna started talking then, her voice dripping with sympathy.

"Oh, hun, I know it hurts being betrayed by someone that's supposed to care for you, but...well, men in general don't seem to understand the concept of actually 'caring.'" May narrowed her eyes, turning her look back to the human woman. "There are very few exceptions to the rule, and that's that they only like a woman for her looks. It's usually better to just stay away from them altogether. I learned that thanks to your father, in fact."

Her eyes widened. "No..."

Donna smiled sadly. "I know you don't want to believe it, but it's true. I thought your father was different, and yet...well, he has issues. Quite a few. But this is about you, not me or him." She sighed softly. "I can tell when someone is shallow, and that boy of yours is. I have no doubts about it."

"He isn't!"

"He is, dear, and no amount of 'No!'s and 'But he isn't!'s is going to change that." Donna said, and May stared at her, "He...Ash...I've yet to see any proof that says otherwise about him. He's most likely just like the rest, thinking about one thing, and would force it-" She was getting desperate; it amazed her that she had a child that was so set in believing in the man that had hurt her – even if that hurt was not from anything he had done. As it was, desperate times called for desperate measures, and exaggeration was in order.

**_She's wrong_**, the green creature insisted in May's mind, confusing the girl even more then she already was; so much was going on, and she couldn't figure out what was happening, who to listen to, what to do... "Ash isn't like that!" the brunette cried, her face in her hands as tears fell down between her fingers, as she shook from the stress, "You don't know him! He's never forced me to do anything I didn't want to!"

Donna's expression changed from sad, to surprise, to suspicion. "What do you mean, never forced you to do anything you didn't want to?" she asked slowly.

Silvanus snarled softly, getting a bad feeling about her. May smiled weakly, ignorant to the older woman's thoughts and to Silvanus' growing discomfort. "He's never made me do something I didn't want to do..." **_No May!_** Vanika cried out, waving her claws in front of her rapidly regardless of the fact that no one but Silvanus could see her. Glancing in the direction that she knew Vanika was curiously, realizing that the female dragon was trying to deter her from continuing on the train of thought she was on, she switched to another one. "He let me decide whether I wanted to come here or not. Ash...Ash didn't want me to leave Nara unless I was sure about it."

Donna seemed to relax. "Well, that is one redeeming act...that I've seen a fair few people do one nice thing, when inside they were really quite rotten." May scowled at her. "Dear, can't you see? You shouldn't get disillusioned! You saw for yourself just what can happen when you let yourself trust someone like that!"

"Someone like that?" May said quietly, feeling anger bubble up. No matter how much she hurt inside, she didn't like listening to someone bad talk any of her friends, and especially not Ash of all people. She felt Vanika and Silvanus edge close to her. As Donna was about to start talking again, the distressed girl cut her off, standing up. "I don't care! You've only met him twice!"

"That's all I needed! He's just like your father!" May stood in stunned silence, her mouth hanging open, before the anger that was simmering blasted out of her finally.

"Ash isn't like Daddy!" Feeling as if her insides were dying, May bolted out of the room, forcing the front door open and racing out into the warm evening, not letting the shouts and screams from Donna stop her. _He isn't! He isn't, he isn't, he isn't!_

- - -

Carina sighed, staring up at the ceiling ruefully. She had returned to her own room, and crawled onto the bed. Being rejected -again! - then getting a metaphorical slap in the face made for a very depressed woman. She couldn't believe that someone could be so cold. "He..hates...me..."

Turning over, she took a deep breath, letting it out in a loud gust. "Why can't he understand! I made it as clear as I could! I admitted how I felt, and he still pushed me away!"

An idea forming in her mind, Carina picked the phone up, dialing in the number she needed. She listened to the ringing, letting it cut her hearing until there was an abrupt silence, and then an answer. "Hello?"

"Gary!" she cried, rubbing an eye as she felt them sting, "It didn't work."

He was quiet for a minute, then he started laughing harshly, surprising her considerably. "What's so funny?" Carina asked defensively.

"It didn't work, you say! You idiot, it's worked perfectly!" Gary snapped, and she sighed, disbelieving. "Don't you see? This is the perfect opportunity for you to get in."

"Ash said he hated me!"

"So what? He's hurt, you know it and I know it. He lashed out at the first thing he could." he replied coolly, smirking, even though Carina didn't know it, "Now is a good time to get in there to comfort him, and prove you aren't going to run off like my little sister tends to do."

"He said to stay away from him..." she whined, and Gary rolled his eyes. He was amazed at just how dense she was being with what he was saying; he sincerely hoped he could be rid of her fast.

"So? Do what you damn well have to do!" The researcher hung up, his lip curling; he wouldn't talk to her longer then he really had to. It always gave him a headache to do so, listening to her annoying voice.

- - -

Misty whistled quietly. She had gone out for a night to do some private training out on the peninsula, and had returned only an hour ago. Smiling at her playing pokemon, she sat at her computer and turned the Internet on.

While it loaded, she clicked the button on the answering machine, and saw a picture pop up on the screen of the phone; it was Delia. Quickly getting her E-Mail up, she opened one, then frowned when she noticed how uneasy the older woman appeared on screen, and turned her attention to the message, clicking to make it start over from the beginning and turning the volume on it up higher.

"Hi Misty, if you're home, I really need you to pick up. I need you to get Brock and come here. Some bad things are happening." Jumping in surprise, she leaned closer to the screen, her eyes widening. "May ran off, and we can't find her anywhere, and Ash is...he's in a bad state. We've had all his pokemon out searching, and he's even gone out himself to look for hours at a time, and there's been nothing coming up. I've just had to force him to go to bed and rest. We don't even know where Vanika is, or Silvanus."

The gym leader was surprised that the two dragons were known by Mrs. Ketchum, and shook her head. After a brief pause, Delia continued speaking. "I'd give you all the details over this message, but...that can wait until you get in touch. Please, I wouldn't ask you to travel this far if it wasn't an emergency. We need some help. Thanks Misty, bye!"

It went blank. Misty leaned back in her seat, her hand against her mouth in shock. "This can't be good. I wonder what happened?" she asked to the air, quickly calling the Pewter Gym. When it was one of the children that answered, she answered hastily, "Brock! I need Brock!"

They blinked, nodded, and ran off. Misty tapped a fingernail on the desk, getting antsy just as the older leader appeared. "Where's the electricity?" Brock joked. He went solemn when he saw the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"We need to go to Pallet Town. I'll explain everything when I get to Pewter."


	21. Chapter Twenty: Ash's Desperation

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, Carina, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Chapter Twenty! Only the epilogue after this. -tear- Actually, I don't care much for how this chapter ends, seems too short, but I didn't want to prolong that scene either. x.x Meh. I might go back later if I get more inspiration and do some work on it. For now though, I'll shut up for once, and start the chapter. :D

It'll probably be a few days before I can upload the epilogue, since I haven't started writing it yet, though I do have an idea of what I want to do in it. Cha.

Warning: None.

- Chapter Twenty: Ash's Desperation -

"Come in!" Misty cautiously opened the door, peering in before entering, Brock following her. Delia appeared at the top of the stairs freshly dressed and looking ready for another day. They had walked throughout the day and night, taking stops only when it was of utmost urgency to do so, and then only for a few minutes at a time; they hadn't even stopped to eat, instead fixing sandwiches and chewing on them while they moved through the forested areas. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you!"

After being giving hugs from the woman, they sat together in the living room, awkwardly looking around. "Well...um...where is..." Misty started, and Delia shook her head.

"I don't know. When I got up I went to check on him, and he'd already gotten up and ran off. I wish he'd stop doing that, it worries me." Brock and Misty exchanged uneasy looks, then glanced at Delia. She forced a strained smile. "Are you two hungry? I can make breakfast while we talk."

Putting her hands up to refuse, the redhead shot the dark man a sharp look; she fell into peels of laughter with them when his stomach growled, and they drifted off to the kitchen for the discussion they needed to have. "So what exactly happened?" Brock asked, propping his head up on his hands, watching Delia rush around to prepare a decent brunch for the new arrivals.

"I wasn't there, to be honest." she admitted, cracking eggs over the skillet, and then turning to look at him. Misty sat down across the table from him, and turned to face the older woman. "But from what Ash said, it involved an old friend of his. Carina, I believe."

Misty wrinkled her nose in thought. "I don't remember him ever mentioning a Carina before." Brock rose an eyebrow.

"I don't think he would." the chief said, flipping the eggs around, "He wasn't exactly all that thrilled with her when he left to become a Pokemon Trainer. Mainly that she was a little more...emotionally developed then he was, if you know what I mean."

They stared. "She had a crush on him?" Brock remarked dryly, "And I take it Ash didn't take to the thought so well?"

"Oh, he didn't take to it at all. When she wanted a little too much attention from him, Ash ended up telling her that once he was a Master that he'd marry her..the poor thing didn't even know what that was. What with how his father was always at the lab with Sam, or off in the fields, or at work, neither of us considered that we should talk to him about it...we never thought it'd be brought up at such a young age." Delia frowned. "I just found out about that too. I knew he wasn't happy with her, but not exactly why. I never could figure out what happened between them until he told me the other day."

"Wait, when has everything happened that happened recently?" It was Misty that posed the question, and Delia put the spatula down that she was using to stir the pancake batter.

"Well, let's see...it was probably 4 or so days ago this thing with Carina started again, that night I talked to Ash, then he ended up staying out all night. That morning May went out looking for him and I guess they stayed together all day because it was nighttime again by the time they got back." Delia had to think hard to keep everything straight in her head. "Then the that next day May went to the lab to help her grandfather – Sam, of course – and then Ash left a few minutes later to go talk to Carina I think. It was a good few hours later when he came back home, terribly upset, seemed to have a problem trying to stay calm long enough to explain what happened."

"Which was?" both gym leaders asked, and Delia shrugged.

"He said he had gone to talk to her, and it went well enough except for the obvious issue of her being a...uh...well, he used a few choice words I rather not repeat." Her face fell. "Said she wouldn't take no for an answer. Then he said she had the nerve to kiss him, and come to find out _May_ had been right there within sight of all of it when that happened."

"Aw, shit..." the male leader said, as Misty pursed her lips. Delia continued her story, pouring the batter onto another skillet.

"I ended up keeping him home an hour or two, making sure he was alright and everything, then he went out looking again. Came back around 10, 11 at night, but was going to go back out until I made him go to bed. He'd already lost a night's sleep and I didn't want him losing another one so soon after the first. So that's when I called you. I ended up repeating the process with Ash again yesterday, then...well, you can see what happened. I'm surprised you got here so quick. I expected it to take three or four days for you to arrive...I'm happy you made it."

"We travel fast," Misty replied vaguely, then waved a hand, "Where's he looked?"

"Where _hasn't_ Ash looked? He's been asking anyone and everyone if they know anything, combing over the town, the fields, the forest...even by the ocean!" the brunette said, frowning as she piled the food onto plates, and put them on the table. She went about getting silverware. "If he keeps this up, he's going to get sick. Yesterday I had to get Pikachu to bring him back so he'd have lunch, then the same for dinner and to go to bed."

"He didn't do that in Nara when she was taken by that one woman," Misty commented, picking at her food quietly. Brock shook his head, thanking Delia for the wonderful meal as he drenched his pancakes in syrup.

"Ash also knew right where she was and who she was with, even if he didn't like it and knew it wasn't the safest place for her." the breeder pointed out, "This time he has no clue what's happened, where she ran off to, or if she's alright. That's probably what is killing him inside the most."

"I was hoping that if you two were here, that...that he'd be a bit calmer about this. It scares me knowing that Ash is off running around alone while...while he's..." Delia seemed to be struggling for the right words, as she chewed on her tongue thoughtfully. She winced. "While he's so...unstable."

"We can imagine," Misty murmured. She remembered just how emotionally torn the teenager easily became; she had woken up more times then she wished to on their journey from Wicker City to Nara Pass, either because of hearing Ash crying or yelling in his sleep. Sighing, they glanced at each other sadly. "How can we if he keeps running around and staying away from here? Should we go look for him?"

"No, Pikachu should be threatening a Thunderbolt if he doesn't come back here to eat soon." Delia smiled wanly. "I just wish it wasn't like this."

"So do I. And if Ash had listened-" Brock cut her off before she could start, giving her a look that spoke volumes.

"Misty! Do you honestly think he needs a 'I told you so!' right about now?" he snapped, and Misty leaned back, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "We came to help, not to make things worse." Delia stared between them in confusion.

"If he had listened, this never would have happened!"

"He also wouldn't have found out what it was like knowing exactly who he wanted to marry, either!" Misty and Delia stared him, their faces showing their shock. Brock frowned. "What?"

"My little boy...Ash...he wants to get married?" the older woman asked.

"To _May_?" Misty added in amazement. Brock nodded slowly, his frown deepening.

"He never told you two?" They shook their heads, and he blanched. "Damn. I thought he would have for sure. He was so excited when he mentioned it to me, like he'd just been given the greatest gift anyone could ever give."

"All this time, while I was trying to pull him back to keep him safe...Ash was..." Misty started, a small smile forming on her face, and Brock finished the statement.

"Doing what he has always done since we met each other." he said, mirroring her expression, "Followed the orders of his own heart and mind."

- - -

"Pikapi..." Pikachu's ears bent back sadly, as he sat back on his hunches. He knew his master wasn't happy; he could see it and feel it down to his very bones. "Ka Pikachu?"

Ash stared silently ahead, his hand on the door, and sighed loudly. "No, I can't. I can't..." Pushing it open, he trudged into the house, his steps heavy as he entered and slammed the door shut behind him after Pikachu had bounded past him.

"Oh, you're back!" Delia said, and Ash looked at her dully, "Any luck this time?"

He scowled, giving her the answer without having to say a word. The anger vanished when he saw his two friends sitting on the couch, and he looked away. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked quietly, plopping down into a chair, his legs hanging over the arm of it.

"We got a call saying you might need some help doing a Search and Find...or some cheerleaders, I wasn't quite sure because Misty was the one that explained it to me," Brock said, getting an elbow in the side from the redhead as she snarled, and Ash smiled weakly at them. "Really, we just heeded the call for our presence."

"Pika!" The small yellow pokemon jumped onto the breeder's lab, getting his ears scratched for doing so. Misty looked at Ash thoughtfully as he watched them back. "Chuuuu..."

"How're you holding up so far?" she asked gently, and Ash shrugged nonchalantly, "Mrs. Ketchum told us what happened. Is there anything we can do?"

"No." The blunt, cold answer caught the attention of both Gym Leaders, and they looked at him in confusion. "There isn't anything you can do I haven't tried already. I've looked everywhere. I can't contact May, I can't get a hold of Vanika and Silvanus...I even tried her birth mother, and she said she didn't know anything either."

Frustration showing on his face, Ash stood and started pacing, mumbling under his breath, then slammed a fist into the wall. "Dammit, if she hadn't taken Surskit with her, I could have used him!" he growled.

"Surskit?" the redheaded girl echoed. He nodded, pressing his forehead against the wall, and sighed.

"I gave her a Surskit." He heard Delia make a disapproving sound, and turned his head to look at her apologetically. "Sorry, Mom."

"Ash, I...don't think May has her pokemon with her," she said, and he pushed himself away from the wall, regarding her critically. Delia put her hands in front of her, clasped together. "When she went to the lab, he wasn't following her, and I didn't see that the poke ball was with her either."

"Have you seen it anywhere?" Brock asked, and Ash frowned, looking towards the staircase, and shook his head. "Let's try finding her Surskit. That might be a bit easier then trying anything else."

- - -

"I found it!" Holding the small orb in her hands, Misty looked it over. She knew it had to be the elusive pokemon; Ash had his pokemon with him, and all of the empty poke balls were in his bag, which had been tossed into a corner to be forgotten. When he peeked his head into the smaller bedroom, she let the spider out, and yelped when it jumped over her to get to Ash.

"Yes! Surskit!" The water and bug type crept onto his head, long legs hanging down either side of his face, and he smiled. "Think you could find May?"

"Skitsu?" The pokemon bounced once. "Skit!" Laughing happily – Misty had a feeling that was probably foreign sounding considering how little he did of it – Ash raced out, taking to the staircase, two or three steps at a time.

"Ash, wait!" Brock yelled, and was met by the sound of the front door slamming. "Should we go after him?"

Misty met him at the stairs as Delia peered up at them. "No." she said, "I think it'd be best if we left this to him. If he's going to find May,it's going to be now, and us being there is just going to make things harder for them."

- - -

"Surskit! Come on, be serious here!" Ash sighed. The spider had led him in circles; first it went to the lab – which had been awkward to explain to Professor Oak, without causing any more alarm then there was already – then to the southern edge of town, back around to the lab, then finally into the small housing district that... "Wait, what're we doing over here? May's mom's house is over here."

"Skeeeeet!" Ash saw another form scramble toward the tall house, and he slowly started in their direction as the pokemon ran that way. "Shit, not her again. Surskit, let's take a different-"

"Ash..." Carina turned away from the door, her hand still up at the bell, and frowned as he neared. "Is everything alright? You look pale."

"Oh, just peachy." he said sarcastically, and he could see that she was preparing herself for the rest of the reply, "I've only been trying to find my girlfriend who went missing on me because a certain _someone_ got her upset by forcing a certain issue. Why, Carina, I'm just grand!"

She eyed Pikachu as electricity crackled at the red cheeks, and then glanced at Surskit as he clung to Ash's ankle. "I...take it you haven't found her yet?" she asked politely, and the aggravated Pokemon Master slapped a hand against his forehead.

"No shit. You think I'd be here if I had?" Seeing that no one was answering the door, Ash quickly rapped his knuckles on it impatiently. "What's it to you anyway?"

"I was just wondering." Carina wrung her hands together as he sat down on the step, propping his head up in his cupped hand and staring at the street sadly. Surskit hid between his feet as she sat next to him. "Why do you love her?"

"Why do you love me?" Ash retorted, silencing her for a moment. Carina looked away quickly, knowing it wasn't going to be as easy as Gary made it sound to get him to open up.

"I don't know. I just do."

"You have my answer." Pikachu snickered.

"Well..." Carina sniffed, forcing her own misery back. "What's so special about that girl?" Ash looked at her sideways, as she glanced at him; he laughed quietly, harshly.

"A lot of things," he said, wiping his face with the sleeve of his jacket, and frowned. "A lot of things..." Petting Surskit, Ash shook his head.

"Like what?" she asked. She knew it was breaking her heart to listen to him talk about another girl, but she felt something else behind it; she just wasn't sure what it was yet. Ash shrugged, staring off into the sky as he tinged pink.

"I don't know...a lot of things. Like how if she wants to play or go somewhere, she'll get my attention then run off, then keep repeating the same thing until I get the hint and follow her." Blinking away the offending tears, Ash sighed, his eyes narrowing. Carina had gone quiet, watching him as guilt started building up inside of her.

"I don't think Miss Donna is home..." Carina tentatively took hold of his hand and squeezed it, getting a scowl from him. "You'll find her."

Seeing the top of the lab building, Ash looked at her quickly. "Who put you up to it?" he asked suddenly, and Carina blinked in confusion, "Who told you about my rank in Nara?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, and Ash rolled his eyes; even Surskit seemed unimpressed with her ignorance.

"I mean," Ash said, his voice saying that he was not happy with her act, "who talked you into bringing that damn promise up now? I know you weren't this stubborn before." Carina looked away, closing her eyes.

"A friend of mine was telling me about it is all. I'd been looking forward to it for years." It was the truth, after all, even if it wasn't the full story. Carina chewed on her lip when she heard him stand up. She had to suppress the yelp she nearly let out when he pulled her up by her sleeve.

"Carina," he said slowly, "I need to know who told you. It's important." She stared at him, seemingly trying to figure out whether it was safe to or not, then nodded.

"The guy we used to go to school with. Gary." Ash felt anger at his old rival, realizing he had been right to assume that he had been behind the whole thing. "He told me about it, and suggested that I go talk to you. When I said I would, he mentioned about needing to make sure his sister was around. I hadn't even known he had one until then."

"Well, he does, and he hates her more then you can believe." Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ash sighed loudly. "Carina, no offense, but you're an idiot. Do you even realize he's been using you this whole time?"

She ran a hand through her hair to get it out of her face. "I don't know," Carina admitted as Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder, and Surskit took off toward the edge of town. She watched it go as he turned to follow.

"Well, whatever you do, stop listening to him. He's one spiteful son of a bitch, and I'd rather not have to actually end up hating you for pulling crap like you've been doing recently." Going into a fast sprint, Ash followed the searching pokemon.

Carina smiled sadly. "Thank you, Ash...Good luck."

- - -

Surskit skid to a stop at the forest edge, surveying the area. "Piiikachu?" the electric type asked, hunching down when the spider leaped forward into the trees.

"Wait, hold on! You move faster then I do!" Ash ran past his starter – who had to go into a quick trot to keep up – and into the underbrush, keeping an arm up to protect his face from any branches that hung in front of him. Surskit leaped and ran ahead, taking sharp turns and changing directions. "Dammit, I won't be able to follow him much longer if he keeps that up."

"Hang on a minute! SURSKIT!" he yelled when the creature disappeared, leaving him alone in the forest. "That little bastard. He's supposed to be helping, not making life harder on me. Yeesh."

"Chu!" Pikachu rolled his eyed, and pointed in the direction they had been following for almost twenty minutes. "Pika, pi, pikachu!"

"Yeah, we have been going this way for awhile, haven't we?" Ash said quietly, "I guess we just keep going then, and see if we find anything. It's kinda like looking for a wild pokemon, isn't it?"

"Pi." Ash shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around as he picked his way through the tangle of roots and bushes. "Pikapika! Pikapika!"

There was a rustling, and Ash spun around to see something silver flash past, disappearing into a clump of trees. "Silvanus," he whispered, and took after him at a trot, shouting after him, "Silvanus, wait! Waaait!"

Realizing that he had once again lost his only chance of finding May, he growled. "Dammit." Stomping his foot angrily, Ash glared at his companion, who was laughing quite loudly at his apparent frustration and aimed a kick at the pokemon. Pikachu dodged out of the way, cheeks sparking, and sent a jolt of electricity through his master.

"Pikachu! Pikapi, pika, chuuuuuuuu!" The mouse's ears went back, eyes flashing, and he advanced on the bemused human. It was then that Ash's eyes widened, and he waved his hands in front of him in surrender, turning from his friend.

"Wait, wait, wait! That's it!" Looking around the silent forest, hugging himself when he started feeling nervousness creeping up, Ash took a breath, hoping that the hunch he had would prove correct. "May! I know you are around here somewhere, even if I somehow can't seem to find you! I know you're upset, and I know you're probably angry at me, but please, just hear me out!"

Pikachu tilted his head questioningly, wondering what Ash knew that he didn't. "Even if you don't want to come out, just...just listen! I was trying to fix everything, I really was! Even if...even if it didn't look like it. What you saw...I swear that I wasn't asking for that to happen. I hadn't even expected her to attempt something like that!" He swallowed. "May, your brother was behind the whole thing. I don't know why, and I have a feeling I don't want to know, but he was the one that told Carina about me. He was why she got us into this whole mess!"

"I'm sorry, May! I'm sorry..." Getting choked up, Ash sank to his knees, blinking to stop the tears that were painfully starting to fall, and failing. "None of this should have happened! I should have taken care of all this crap before you'd gotten involved and gotten hurt, I shouldn't have given either of them the chance to do this to us..."

Pikachu patted the sobbing teenager on the leg with his paw. "Pikapika, chuuuu..."

- - -

May curled into a ball, her arms around her legs, and she squeezed her eyes shut. The shouts sounded like they were close by, and she shook her head. "Suuur?" her pokemon asked.

He had managed to find her amongst the greenery, and had happily taken to sprawling out next to her quietly. Vanika's eyes rose up, softening when May started crying. **_Go_**, she urged her, prodding her with a claw, **_you need each other._**

Silvanus snorted, rolling his eyes; he didn't remark, however, not when he knew he had no right to with how he had purposely drawn Ash's attention in the right direction. May felt her face warm up. "I don't know..." she said quietly. Vanika swung her head to look in the direction that she knew the Master was at. **_ Has there ever been a reason to doubt him before?_** she asked, and May shook her head, **_Then why would there be now?_**

"What about Carina?" May pointed out, and Vanika shrugged. **_What of her? She doesn't matter now. What matters is that you have to do what you have to do._**

Leaning her head back against the tree behind her, May let out a breath, and nodded. **_Ugh. We'll be right there._** Silvanus said as she rose, and him and Vanika vanished into the undergrowth. May looked at Surskit, wiping her eyes, before fighting her way through the brambles and trees, her mouth set in a thin line as she tried to get a control on herself.

"...Chuuuu..." May slid back behind a tree, her back pressed against it, and waited in silence, torn between running in the opposite direction or comforting her sniffling lover; she could hear Ash gasping as he tried to stem the flow of tears, and it alone bad her want to crawl back to her hiding spot and wail painfully. "Chu, pi..."

Mentally slapping herself, she stepped out from around the giant plant, carefully and silently walking toward the huddled form, her own emotions powerfully pressing on her, causing her eyes to sting and water to spill out again. "Ash..." she said meekly, crouching down and hugging him from behind, her cheek pressing against his shoulder blades. "_I'm_ sorry."

Ash visibly relaxed, falling backwards and farther into her embrace. "May," he said wearily, closing his eyes in relief, "Thank the gods." He twisted to pull her in front of him, holding onto her tightly.

"I'm sorry," May repeated, nuzzling him. The familiar scent of his cologne and sweat brought about a small amount of comfort to her.

"No." He wiped her tears away with his thumb. "You didn't...you'd didn't do anything wrong." May shook her head.

"I hurt you again!" She looked at him.

"No, you didn't." Fumbling to hold her hands in his, he frowned. "If anything, I'm the one that did the hurting. I said I'd protect you, but then it's because of me all of this hell started."

Shaking his head, Ash glanced at her, determination flashing in his dark eyes. "What do you want to do?" he asked, and May blinked, confusion showing on her face, "Name it."

Wondering if Vanika and Silvanus were prowling around, May eased over onto the waiting man's lap, letting him put his arms around her protectively and warmly. "I want to go home," she replied quietly.

Knowing exactly were home was, he gently kissed her on the lips. "I think that can be arranged," Ash said, smiling contently.


	22. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, Carina, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Here we are. The final ending point. I do realize this just brought up...like, two, three new things that weren't in the story before. XD But I did that purposely, so that either A) If the case becomes that I write a story that goes after this one, I have some things to work with or B) It gives you all something to chew on and think about.

I didn't want to make this too long, it's about the same length as the Prologue or just about anyway. I do realize it sounds really odd compared to the rest, but it didn't seem to want to work out any other way then this. Plus, the whole thing with Delia, I'd been contemplating having that as the Epilogue, or as part of it, for the last few chapters, so I didn't want to throw it out. Plus it just gave me a chance to relax and not have to worry about fitting it all into a normal scene set-up with tons of dialog that no one in their right minds would say. It'd just be "blah blah blah, did this, did that..." "That's nice, sweetie." XD Not as interesting as this, I think.

As for the first half, that was a last minute thought. I was just going to have Delia's scene and be done with it, then decided it might be a good idea to have a scene with Ash and May. And I figured being back "home," they'd probably act a tad different then..say, at Pallet Town or in one of the cities. And an odd thing that actually happened here a while back gave me the inspiration for the scene, so...yeah. XD It has a real story behind it, though the inspiration is a bit creepier. Yes.

In the end, the total word count of DG is...ehhh, 72,118 if one doesn't count the author's notes and warnings, credits, and disclaimers. Or its something like that amount. Pretty long by my standards of writing. x.x 149 pages...

Warning: None.

- Epilogue -

Ash had to stifle his laughter, as he crept through the shadowed forest quietly. He heard a rustle nearby, and voices, and took off for them, going serious as he felt Pikachu run past him. There were shouts of rage from the newest intruders, as Ash assumed that May had gotten to them first.

"Son of a bitch!" one of them cursed when he leaped onto the first man's – boy's, Ash couldn't tell how old they were - back, toppling him, then darting back out of their view, crouching down behind one of the trees. He saw May fall back into the bushes, and pulled her over and out of the way. They knew that the group was no actual threat, which was actually why Silvanus wasn't attacking them with the couple; from what they could see, it was only a group that was out for a thrill, and was using the legends for it.

Ash and May gave them the thrill all too happily, having the cover of night to hide in and that made it easier for them to live up to the rumors and myths. He found it ironic; as well known as he was in Nara, the small part that Wicker Maiden Forest resided in didn't realize that their second "spirit" was actually just their Pokemon Master. Half the time he didn't know whether to be proud of being able to be part of the lengthening stories of the forest, or to cry in sadness that people were so gullible as to believe them.

Smirking evilly, Ash took his hat off and slapped it into May's head, jumping up and scaling the tree, gesturing for Pikachu and Surskit to follow. "Thunder Shock, String Shot," he mouthed quietly, pointing at the group that was looking around warily.

Eyes glinting, Pikachu charged up his red cheeks, sparks flying, as Surskit shot a long thin string out. The electricity ran the length of it as it wrapped stickily around them, shouts and screams of fear and pain resounding around them. Ash pointed to where May sat watching the action, pointed at them, then back, before crawling out on one of the limbs, wrapping his legs around it before swinging sideways to be upside down. Out of the group of six, only one was left string-less, and he grabbed her by the shoulders, grinning. "Nice night tonight, isn't it?" he asked, and she screamed, wiggling out of his grasp and running back the way she had entered. "Was it something I said?" He looked at the others, before climbing back up.

May pulled on his arm when he sat next to her again. "That was mean," she said quietly.

"I know." Ash grinned, and nodded back. "Care to have another run? Get them out of here so we can go to bed?" She smiled.

"Sounds good to me." Stalking around the remaining five, Ash pulled a poke ball out, and released Charizard out behind him.

"I need you to use Flame Thrower," he said quietly. Charizard stretched his neck, wings outspreading, and let out a long tongue of flame. It sheared through the branches that were in the way, and singed the frightened people as they ran to get away from it, shouting. More strings shot out from another direction, and they were driven off. "Great!"

Returning his yawning Pokemon, Ash turned to look for May, wondering from which direction she was going to be returning from. "Piiikachu," the yellow creature at his feet cooed, looking up. He shrugged, and yelped when something tackled him from above, and they rolled forward, only the foliage stopping them.

"Dammit May! Didn't I tell you to warn me next time you planned on doing that?" Ash protested, but smiled nonetheless when she bit his ear. He choked back a laugh when his league hat fell over her eyes, and she had to push it back up. "Then again, I think I like it when you don't."

- - -

Delia bumped the door shut with her hip as she rifled through the mail, scanning over the addresses and senders quickly, before her eyes fell on the lone envelop that held no noticeable return address. She smiled, recognizing the scrawl that barely resembled decent handwriting, and tossed the rest on the coffee table, plopping down on the couch as she tore open the letter, carefully pulling the paper out.

"I wonder why he doesn't just call. It's been a few months," she said to herself, scanning over it, and felt her eyes moisten as she read it.

_Dear Mom,_

_I'm sorry that we had to leave so abruptly. After the whole thing with Carrie, we just needed away from everyone for a while. A long while. I'd give you a call if someone would stop hiding my Navigator and if that same someone had not broken her phone. Then again, it might be better off just going with this for now. Back to the basics and all._

_We're back in Nara already, made it pretty slowly since we didn't have to stop anywhere in particular, so we could just wander around a bit. I doubt Silvanus liked that we kept running off in different directions then we planned to. It makes me wish I could find a new tournament to try battling in, but that's not going to be happening any time soon. Not so soon after the Nara Tourny, anyway._

"Ever the wanderer," she said, smiling when she saw the sad face that he'd drawn in the margin next to 'Not so soon.'

_Everything is alright around here. The people here seem to be a lot nicer then I had thought they would be. I came back expecting to be mobbed like in Transia and the other city, but it seems Wicker is big enough that I don't stand out as much...though it helps not going into town much! That's actually why I can't just use the phone at the Pokemon Center._

_May's doing alright too. I think it's a little easier for her around here, what with not having to do any flips to be normal or any of that stuff. Though I am regretting giving her that Surskit. Ever since we left she's been trying to act like a Trainer or something even though she obviously disagrees. This is the last time I let her help me write a letter, she likes drawing on it too much._

Delia laughed, seeing the little star next to the statement, then another one in the margin, with "_I am not! Stop being mean!_" next to it with an angry face, the handwriting smaller and loopier then Ash's.

_We do have a few problems, nothing major though. The main one is that I can't seem to shake the feeling that I have a second and third shadow. I'm used to May following me around, but now I have her little sister doing the same thing half the time. I need to make some money soon and buy some rope, and yet I've a feeling Vanika would claw my eyes out if I tied her kid up. It's a nightmare._

There was another drawing beside the writing, that one of a small reptile; even though, it looked more like a very strange stick figure. Delia jumped in shock. "I thought she couldn't have any?"

_I think that trip back here was most likely the last one for them, at least for awhile. Ironically now May has been saying she wants to go back to Kanto. She can't seem to make up her mind for longer then a few weeks or months. I don't even want to know if we'll ever actually manage to settle down at some point._

The thought of her only child settling down was laughable. He liked running around and seeing new things too much to stay in one place for too long.

_We're still considering whether or not to, it'll depend on how things go with Vanika and the new demon, and on whether or not she wants to marry a murderer, because I'll be one after I get through with her brother. I'm still mad at him for what he did, that bastard. _

Delia noticed that more and more little notes were appearing in the margins, the newest one being "_Be happy!_" with a smiley face next to it, that one with hair. She guessed the drawing was supposed to be of May.

_...I did mention that I proposed, right?_

She snickered, seeing the "_Noooooo, you diiiidn't._" next to the question, with the face sticking its tongue out. The only difference was that next to it was a stick figure Ash had apparently drawn as a reply; its arms was crossed, head turned to the side – she thought it was, anyway, it didn't have a nose or any other facial features to be able to tell! - and "_Hmmph._" wrote next to it

_Well, I did, after we got back here again. I think I gave the guy at the jewelry shop a heart attack when I bought the engagement ring. I ended up spending all of my money on it, which is why I can't get the phone repaired...anyway. We'd met him before. I think when I told him who it was I was getting engaged to, he near fainted...er, we really didn't get a good first impression with him._

Chewing on her index finger, Delia nodded thoughtfully. "Congratulations, my little boy," she said quietly.

_I've not told Misty or Brock yet, though you all probably knew it was going to happen eventually. Thanks to him blabbing about it. Gah._

Next to it were two stick figures, one pointing at the other, and the words 'Ha ha' next to them. Delia wondered just how much they tormented each other, if they managed to taunt one another in a letter to her...

_Tell Professor Oak we said hello. We miss you both._

_Love Always,_

_Ash and May_

Under the names was another set of stick figures, and Delia couldn't tell whether they were supposed to be hugging or smacking each other; she, thinking on it, realized she didn't want to know the answer. Folding it up, she leaned back, closing her eyes. _We miss you too_, she thought.

- - -


End file.
